Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) Shares Sold by Ecofi Investissements SA

Ecofi Investissements SA decreased its stake in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 2.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 36,500 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 1,000 shares during the quarter. Danaher makes up about 4.8% of Ecofi Investissements SA’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position. Ecofi Investissements SA’s holdings in Danaher were worth $7,763,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Gilbert & Cook Inc. increased its stake in shares of Danaher by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 1,749 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $401,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Grimes & Company Inc. raised its stake in Danaher by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. now owns 7,390 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,696,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA raised its position in shares of Danaher by 16.4% in the 4th quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 320 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $73,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Danaher by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 1,229 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $342,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Spinnaker Trust boosted its stake in Danaher by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Spinnaker Trust now owns 4,304 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $988,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.05% of the company’s stock.

Danaher Stock Down 2.1 %

DHR opened at $186.71 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $201.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $227.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Danaher Co. has a twelve month low of $171.00 and a twelve month high of $281.70. The stock has a market cap of $133.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.36, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.86.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The conglomerate reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.14. Danaher had a net margin of 16.33% and a return on equity of 10.82%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.09 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.69%. This is an increase from Danaher’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.24%.

Insider Activity at Danaher

In other Danaher news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 5,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.13, for a total value of $1,277,541.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 20,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,534,149.90. This trade represents a 21.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 11.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Danaher from $310.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Raymond James reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Danaher in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Robert W. Baird set a $231.00 price target on Danaher in a report on Wednesday. Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Danaher in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $265.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Barclays raised Danaher from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $240.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $274.55.

About Danaher

Danaher Corporation designs, manufactures, and markets professional, medical, industrial, and commercial products and services worldwide. The Biotechnology segments offers bioprocess technologies, consumables, and services that advance, accelerate, and integrate the development and manufacture of therapeutics; cell line and cell culture media development services; cell culture media, process liquids and buffers for manufacturing, chromatography resins, filtration technologies, aseptic fill finish; single-use hardware and consumables and services, such as the design and installation of full manufacturing suites; lab filtration, separation, and purification; lab-scale protein purification and analytical tools; reagents, membranes, and services; and healthcare filtration solutions.