Covea Finance Acquires 46,700 Shares of Danaher Corporation $DHR

Covea Finance lifted its stake in shares of Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) by 94.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 95,956 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 46,700 shares during the quarter. Covea Finance’s holdings in Danaher were worth $21,966,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of DHR. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in Danaher by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 16,758,240 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,318,926,000 after buying an additional 312,951 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Danaher in the second quarter valued at about $1,979,503,000. Generation Investment Management LLP boosted its position in shares of Danaher by 34.0% in the third quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP now owns 6,654,666 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,319,354,000 after acquiring an additional 1,689,020 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Danaher by 4.0% in the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,822,442 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $952,625,000 after acquiring an additional 186,357 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in Danaher by 5.0% during the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,452,118 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $882,677,000 after acquiring an additional 211,053 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.05% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Danaher

In related news, EVP Gregory M. Milosevich sold 1,320 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.01, for a total value of $274,573.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 5,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,060,642.99. This represents a 20.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 11.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $254.00 price objective on shares of Danaher in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. HSBC raised their target price on shares of Danaher from $255.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 1st. Argus set a $265.00 price target on Danaher in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Leerink Partners increased their price target on Danaher from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Danaher from $270.00 to $265.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $253.55.

Danaher Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of DHR opened at $189.46 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 1.87. Danaher Corporation has a 52-week low of $171.00 and a 52-week high of $242.80. The firm has a market cap of $133.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.59, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.93. The business’s fifty day moving average is $214.33 and its 200-day moving average is $214.85.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 27th. The conglomerate reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.14 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $6.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.79 billion. Danaher had a return on equity of 10.81% and a net margin of 14.71%.Danaher’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.14 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Danaher Corporation will post 7.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 24th. Investors of record on Friday, March 27th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 27th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. This is a positive change from Danaher’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.40%.

Danaher Company Profile

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.