Artisan Partners Limited Partnership Sells 1,111,950 Shares of Danaher Corporation $DHR

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership decreased its holdings in Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) by 44.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,386,008 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 1,111,950 shares during the quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership’s holdings in Danaher were worth $317,285,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in DHR. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG lifted its holdings in Danaher by 25.4% during the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 366,481 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $83,895,000 after purchasing an additional 74,301 shares in the last quarter. Maxi Investments CY Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Danaher in the third quarter worth $3,251,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Danaher by 303.7% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 248,020 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $56,777,000 after buying an additional 186,584 shares in the last quarter. Defender Capital LLC. purchased a new position in shares of Danaher in the fourth quarter worth $35,715,000. Finally, CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Danaher in the third quarter worth $17,480,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.05% of the company’s stock.

Danaher Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of DHR opened at $181.57 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $180.54 and its 200 day moving average is $203.94. Danaher Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $160.93 and a fifty-two week high of $242.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $128.51 billion, a PE ratio of 35.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a current ratio of 1.87.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 20th. The conglomerate reported $2.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.12. Danaher had a net margin of 14.89% and a return on equity of 10.91%. The company had revenue of $5.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.88 earnings per share. Danaher’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Danaher Corporation will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 26th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 26th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Danaher’s payout ratio is 30.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on DHR shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Danaher from $270.00 to $255.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Danaher in a report on Friday, March 27th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Danaher from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Danaher from $240.00 to $212.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Danaher from $245.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $233.61.

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.