Danaher Corporation $DHR Shares Sold by Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) by 10.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 35,573 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 3,950 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in Danaher were worth $7,053,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. WFA of San Diego LLC purchased a new position in shares of Danaher during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute purchased a new position in shares of Danaher in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Red Tortoise LLC increased its holdings in shares of Danaher by 175.0% in the second quarter. Red Tortoise LLC now owns 154 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Danaher in the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Ramirez Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Danaher during the second quarter worth $40,000. 79.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on DHR. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Danaher in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Danaher in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Rothschild Redb downgraded shares of Danaher from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Danaher from $245.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Danaher from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Twenty-one equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $248.25.

Danaher Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DHR opened at $230.74 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $162.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $223.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $208.40. Danaher Corporation has a 12 month low of $171.00 and a 12 month high of $258.23.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 20th. The conglomerate reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $6.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6 billion. Danaher had a return on equity of 10.92% and a net margin of 14.44%.Danaher’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.71 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Danaher Corporation will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 26th. Danaher’s payout ratio is 26.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Teri List sold 3,298 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.50, for a total value of $746,997.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 20,762 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,702,593. This represents a 13.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 21,776 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.23, for a total transaction of $4,773,952.48. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 14,553 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,190,454.19. This trade represents a 59.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 30,248 shares of company stock worth $6,609,663 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 11.20% of the company’s stock.

About Danaher

Danaher Corporation (NYSE: DHR) is a global science and technology company that designs, manufactures and markets products and services for the life sciences, diagnostics, and environmental and applied markets. The company organizes its operations into business segments focused on Life Sciences, Diagnostics, and Environmental & Applied Solutions, supplying instruments, reagents, software and related services that support research, clinical testing, biopharmaceutical development, and industrial and environmental monitoring.

Products and services in Danaher’s portfolio include analytical and diagnostic instruments, laboratory consumables and reagents, digital and software solutions for workflow and data management, field and industrial monitoring equipment, and service and maintenance programs.