Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-five ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $233.6087.

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on DHR shares. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $205.00 price objective on shares of Danaher in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Wolfe Research lowered Danaher from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Danaher from $240.00 to $212.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Evercore raised their price objective on Danaher from $225.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their target price on Danaher from $245.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd.

Institutional Trading of Danaher

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in DHR. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Danaher by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,681,334 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $6,345,529,000 after purchasing an additional 472,608 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in Danaher by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 18,246,008 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,177,386,000 after purchasing an additional 1,487,768 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in Danaher by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 15,973,240 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,656,595,000 after purchasing an additional 1,334,221 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Danaher by 11.2% during the 4th 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 during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Danaher during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,177,106,000. 79.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Danaher Stock Performance

DHR opened at $193.81 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $137.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $178.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $200.76. Danaher has a 52-week low of $160.93 and a 52-week high of $242.80.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 20th. The conglomerate reported $2.06 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $5.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6 billion. Danaher had a net margin of 14.89% and a return on equity of 10.91%. Danaher’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.88 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Danaher will post 8.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 of this dividend is Friday, June 26th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.95%.

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.