Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) Short Interest Update

Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 7,010,000 shares, an increase of 6.2% from the August 31st total of 6,600,000 shares. Approximately 1.1% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 2,750,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.5 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DHR has been the subject of several analyst reports. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Danaher from $275.00 to $278.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Stephens began coverage on Danaher in a research report on Tuesday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $315.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Danaher from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Danaher in a research report on Monday, June 3rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $295.00 price target for the company. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on Danaher from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Danaher currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $282.12.

Danaher Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of DHR traded down $3.48 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $274.54. 1,367,211 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,784,547. Danaher has a 52 week low of $182.09 and a 52 week high of $281.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $203.35 billion, a PE ratio of 46.46, a PEG ratio of 4.55 and a beta of 0.83. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $270.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $258.06.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $5.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.59 billion. Danaher had a return on equity of 11.06% and a net margin of 16.94%. The firm’s revenue was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.05 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Danaher will post 7.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 27th will be issued a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 27th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.39%. Danaher’s payout ratio is currently 18.31%.

Insider Transactions at Danaher

In other Danaher news, SVP Georgeann Couchara sold 952 shares of Danaher stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.37, for a total transaction of $255,488.24. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,212 shares in the company, valued at $1,130,374.44. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, SVP Georgeann Couchara sold 952 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.37, for a total value of $255,488.24. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,212 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,130,374.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 9,600 shares of Danaher stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.16, for a total value of $2,641,536.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 20,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,566,486.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 39,659 shares of company stock worth $11,042,433. Insiders own 11.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Danaher

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its position in Danaher by 1.8% during the second quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 2,153 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $538,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. raised its stake in Danaher by 3.4% during the second quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. now owns 1,230 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $307,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Trust Co of Kansas raised its stake in Danaher by 4.1% during the second quarter. Trust Co of Kansas now owns 1,022 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $255,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Abacus Planning Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Danaher by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. now owns 5,439 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,359,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Certified Advisory Corp raised its stake in shares of Danaher by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter. Certified Advisory Corp now owns 926 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $231,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.05% of the company’s stock.

Danaher Company 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.