Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) Stake Raised by CWA Asset Management Group LLC

CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its position in shares of Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) by 8.6% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 3,317 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 263 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC’s holdings in Danaher were worth $680,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in DHR. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Danaher during the 4th quarter worth about $2,130,740,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Danaher by 24,958.2% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,870,847 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $383,524,000 after purchasing an additional 1,863,381 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Danaher during the 4th quarter worth about $391,172,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its stake in shares of Danaher by 4,248.8% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 1,639,500 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $376,347,000 after purchasing an additional 1,601,800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors raised its stake in shares of Danaher by 32.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,361,183 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,460,215,000 after purchasing an additional 1,566,658 shares in the last quarter. 79.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Danaher Stock Performance

DHR opened at $196.23 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $140.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.77. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $193.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $209.69. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Danaher Corporation has a 12-month low of $171.00 and a 12-month high of $281.70.

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

Danaher Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.65%. Danaher’s payout ratio is presently 24.85%.

Insider Transactions at Danaher

In other news, Chairman Steven M. Rales sold 1,250,000 shares of Danaher 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 approximately $611,036,665.92. This trade represents a 28.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed 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 value of $3,129,390.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,005,442. This trade represents a 51.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 11.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DHR has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised Danaher from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, March 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Danaher from $260.00 to $240.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Danaher from $265.00 to $230.00 in a report on Monday, April 14th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Danaher from $260.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered their price objective on Danaher from $275.00 to $220.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock 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.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $248.17.

Danaher 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.