Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) Shares Bought by NorthRock Partners LLC

NorthRock Partners LLC grew its position in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 129.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 8,323 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,700 shares during the period. NorthRock Partners LLC’s holdings in Danaher were worth $1,910,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of DHR. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Danaher in the fourth quarter worth about $2,130,740,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Danaher in the fourth quarter worth about $391,172,000. Capital World Investors raised its position in shares of Danaher by 32.7% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,361,183 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,460,215,000 after acquiring an additional 1,566,658 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Danaher by 14.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,934,991 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,821,477,000 after acquiring an additional 992,594 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of Danaher by 6,862.7% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 929,868 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $213,452,000 after acquiring an additional 916,513 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.05% of the company’s stock.

Danaher Stock Down 4.2%

Shares of NYSE DHR opened at $188.32 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $197.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $218.33. The company has a market capitalization of $134.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.80. 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 Co. 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 16.33% and a return on equity of 10.82%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Danaher Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Investors of record on Friday, June 27th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.68%. Danaher’s payout ratio is currently 24.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Christopher Paul Riley sold 15,805 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,005,442. This trade represents a 51.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Steven M. Rales sold 1,250,000 shares of the 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 directly owns 3,105,808 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $611,036,665.92. The trade was a 28.70% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 11.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Danaher from $275.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Danaher from $231.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded Danaher from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Barclays raised their target price on Danaher from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Danaher in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Danaher presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $264.40.

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.