Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-four brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, nineteen have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $235.1364.

Several brokerages recently issued reports on DHR. Argus reduced their price objective on shares of Danaher from $265.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 24th. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Danaher in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $230.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore boosted their price objective on shares of Danaher from $225.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Danaher from $251.00 to $249.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Danaher in a research report on Friday, March 27th.

Danaher Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of DHR opened at $184.45 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $130.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.81. Danaher has a 12-month low of $160.93 and a 12-month high of $242.80. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $181.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $206.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 20th. The conglomerate reported $2.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $5.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6 billion. Danaher had a net margin of 14.89% and a return on equity of 10.91%. Danaher’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.88 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Danaher will post 8.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Danaher Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Trading of Danaher

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in DHR. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Danaher during the fourth quarter worth about $2,177,106,000. Viking Global Investors LP lifted its position in shares of Danaher by 543.9% during the second quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 2,907,515 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $574,351,000 after purchasing an additional 2,455,994 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of Danaher by 104.7% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,333,056 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $991,923,000 after purchasing an additional 2,216,789 shares in the last quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP lifted its position in shares of Danaher by 34.0% during the third quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP now owns 6,654,666 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,319,354,000 after purchasing an additional 1,689,020 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Danaher by 11.2% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 15,076,796 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $3,451,380,000 after purchasing an additional 1,517,904 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.05% 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.