Sterling Investment Management LLC Sells 322 Shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

Sterling Investment Management LLC decreased its holdings in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 7.3% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 4,064 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 322 shares during the period. Sterling Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Danaher were worth $833,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Spinnaker Trust grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Danaher by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,983 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $914,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Fayez Sarofim & Co increased its stake in Danaher by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co now owns 8,287 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,902,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC raised its position in Danaher by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC now owns 1,099 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $252,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Perennial Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Danaher by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,343 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $538,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.05% of the company’s stock.

Danaher Price Performance

Danaher stock opened at $204.62 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $191.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $211.67. The stock has a market cap of $146.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.77. Danaher Co. has a 12-month low of $171.00 and a 12-month high of $281.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.26. Danaher had a net margin of 16.33% and a return on equity of 10.82%. The company had revenue of $5.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.58 billion. Equities analysts expect that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Investors of record on Friday, June 27th will be given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.63%. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Danaher from $231.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Argus decreased their price objective on shares of Danaher from $260.00 to $240.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Danaher from $240.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. UBS Group decreased their price target on Danaher from $275.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Danaher in a report on Monday, April 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Danaher presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $248.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman Steven M. Rales sold 1,250,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $196.74, for a total transaction of $245,925,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 3,105,808 shares in the company, valued at $611,036,665.92. This trade represents a 28.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Christopher Paul Riley sold 15,805 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.00, for a total transaction of $3,129,390.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,179 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,005,442. This trade represents a 51.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 11.10% of the company’s stock.

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.