Hartford Financial Management Inc. Boosts Stake in Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR)

Hartford Financial Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) by 2.0% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 15,256 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 299 shares during the period. Hartford Financial Management Inc.’s holdings in Danaher were worth $3,128,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of DHR. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Danaher during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Danaher in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Danaher in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Danaher in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Danaher by 68.4% in the first quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 165 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. 79.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Danaher Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE DHR opened at $194.36 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $193.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $210.32. The company has a market capitalization of $139.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 1.05. Danaher Corporation has a 1 year low of $171.00 and a 1 year high of $281.70.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $5.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.58 billion. Danaher had a net margin of 15.81% and a return on equity of 10.80%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Danaher Corporation will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Danaher Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.66%. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DHR has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group cut their price objective on Danaher from $275.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Argus reduced their price target on shares of Danaher from $260.00 to $240.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Danaher from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Danaher from $260.00 to $240.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Danaher from $260.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $248.17.

Insider Transactions at Danaher

In other news, EVP Christopher Paul Riley sold 15,805 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.00, for a total transaction of $3,129,390.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,179 shares in the company, valued at $3,005,442. This trade represents a 51.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 sale, the chairman now owns 3,105,808 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $611,036,665.92. This represents a 28.70% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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.