Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) Shares Bought by Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC

Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lifted its stake in shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 9.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 77,009 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,359 shares during the quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC’s holdings in Danaher were worth $17,678,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in DHR. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Danaher during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Danaher in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Danaher in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in Danaher in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Danaher by 63.3% during the 4th quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC now owns 147 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. 79.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Danaher Stock Down 0.1 %

DHR stock opened at $210.26 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $150.27 billion, a PE ratio of 39.82, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.82. Danaher Co. has a one year low of $196.80 and a one year high of $281.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.40. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $215.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $237.37.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The conglomerate reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.14. Danaher had a return on equity of 10.82% and a net margin of 16.33%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.09 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.61%. This is an increase from Danaher’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. Danaher’s payout ratio is 24.24%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on DHR shares. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Danaher from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Danaher from $280.00 to $240.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $277.00 price objective (down from $299.00) on shares of Danaher in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Danaher from $277.00 to $268.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Danaher from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, March 14th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $278.24.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 5,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.13, for a total transaction of $1,277,541.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 20,230 shares in the company, valued at $4,534,149.90. This represents a 21.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 11.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Danaher Profile

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.