Richard P Slaughter Associates Inc Invests $204,000 in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

Richard P Slaughter Associates Inc acquired a new position in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR – Get Rating) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 770 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $204,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of DHR. CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Danaher by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 3,076 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $817,000 after buying an additional 222 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management raised its holdings in shares of Danaher by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 7,854 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,983,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the period. New England Research & Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Danaher by 22.1% during the 4th quarter. New England Research & Management Inc. now owns 4,006 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,063,000 after buying an additional 725 shares during the period. MinichMacGregor Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Danaher during the 4th quarter valued at about $73,000. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Danaher by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 89,634 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $23,791,000 after buying an additional 3,628 shares during the period. 77.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Danaher Trading Down 2.6 %

NYSE:DHR opened at $242.96 on Friday. Danaher Co. has a 12-month low of $233.71 and a 12-month high of $303.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $177.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.89 and a quick ratio of 1.52. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $258.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $262.40.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 24th. The conglomerate reported $2.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.46 by $0.41. Danaher had a return on equity of 17.97% and a net margin of 22.91%. The business had revenue of $8.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.90 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.69 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Danaher Co. will post 10.14 EPS for the current year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 30th. This is a positive change from Danaher’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Danaher’s payout ratio is 10.36%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Danaher news, Director Raymond C. Stevens sold 8,410 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.27, for a total transaction of $2,222,510.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 8,394 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,218,282.38. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 11.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on DHR. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Danaher in a report on Tuesday, December 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $310.00 target price on the stock. Barclays lifted their price objective on Danaher from $277.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 24th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Danaher from $321.00 to $309.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 25th. StockNews.com began coverage on Danaher in a report on Thursday. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Credit Suisse Group downgraded Danaher from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $315.00 to $300.00 in a report on Thursday, January 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $310.29.

Danaher Profile

(Get Rating)

Danaher Corp. engages in the design, manufacture, and marketing of professional, medical, industrial, and commercial products and services. It operates through the following segments: Biotechnology, Life Sciences, Diagnostics, and Environmental and Applied Solutions. The Biotechnology segment includes the bioprocessing and discovery and medical businesses and offers a range of tools, consumables, and services.