Figure 8 Investment Strategies LLC Takes Position in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

Figure 8 Investment Strategies LLC bought a new stake in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 9,156 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $2,102,000. Danaher accounts for approximately 2.1% of Figure 8 Investment Strategies LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 19th largest position.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of DHR. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Danaher by 15.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,617,424 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $6,566,116,000 after purchasing an additional 3,217,631 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in Danaher by 3.0% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,097,986 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,417,342,000 after acquiring an additional 148,251 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Danaher by 2.6% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 4,552,640 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,265,725,000 after acquiring an additional 116,299 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Danaher by 17.6% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,582,982 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $996,141,000 after acquiring an additional 535,254 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Danaher by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 1,715,826 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $382,936,000 after purchasing an additional 9,942 shares in the last quarter. 79.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 5,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.13, for a total value of $1,277,541.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 20,230 shares in the company, valued at $4,534,149.90. The trade was a 21.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 11.10% of the company’s stock.

Danaher Trading Up 0.7 %

NYSE:DHR opened at $203.56 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $230.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $250.28. Danaher Co. has a one year low of $196.80 and a one year high of $281.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $147.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.55, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 1.05.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The conglomerate reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14. Danaher had a return on equity of 10.82% and a net margin of 16.33%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.09 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Danaher Co. will post 7.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 27th were paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 27th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.45%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DHR has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Danaher in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $265.00 target price on the stock. Raymond James reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Danaher in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America upgraded Danaher from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $290.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Danaher from $309.00 to $305.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Danaher from $277.00 to $268.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $278.00.

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.