Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) Shares Sold by Brown Advisory Inc.

Brown Advisory Inc. cut its holdings in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR - Free Report) by 5.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,780,102 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 209,177 shares during the period. Danaher accounts for about 1.1% of Brown Advisory Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Brown Advisory Inc. owned approximately 0.52% of Danaher worth $867,722,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DHR. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Danaher by 66.7% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,466 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $1,714,000 after purchasing an additional 2,986 shares during the last quarter. Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Danaher during the fourth quarter worth $56,000. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of Danaher by 45.5% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 778,447 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $179,043,000 after buying an additional 243,300 shares in the last quarter. Bangor Savings Bank raised its holdings in shares of Danaher by 14.4% in the 4th quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 1,700 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $390,000 after buying an additional 214 shares during the period. Finally, Norway Savings Bank lifted its stake in Danaher by 10.7% during the 4th quarter. Norway Savings Bank now owns 6,185 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $1,420,000 after acquiring an additional 596 shares in the last quarter. 79.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Danaher Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE DHR traded down $3.49 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $191.33. The company had a trading volume of 2,845,968 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,390,432. Danaher Co. has a 52-week low of $171.00 and a 52-week high of $281.70. The stock has a market cap of $136.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.24, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $198.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $219.95.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $5.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.58 billion. Danaher had a return on equity of 10.82% and a net margin of 16.33%. Sell-side analysts predict that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Danaher Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 27th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.67%. Danaher's payout ratio is currently 24.85%.

Insider Transactions at Danaher

In related news, EVP Christopher Paul Riley sold 15,805 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.00, for a total value of $3,129,390.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,179 shares in the company, valued at $3,005,442. The trade was a 51.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 11.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on DHR shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Danaher in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Danaher from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $260.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, March 14th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Danaher from $280.00 to $240.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Danaher from $260.00 to $240.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Danaher from $231.00 to $225.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $264.40.

Danaher Profile

Danaher Corporation designs, manufactures, and markets professional, medical, industrial, and commercial products and services worldwide. The Biotechnology segments offers bioprocess technologies, consumables, and services that advance, accelerate, and integrate the development and manufacture of therapeutics; cell line and cell culture media development services; cell culture media, process liquids and buffers for manufacturing, chromatography resins, filtration technologies, aseptic fill finish; single-use hardware and consumables and services, such as the design and installation of full manufacturing suites; lab filtration, separation, and purification; lab-scale protein purification and analytical tools; reagents, membranes, and services; and healthcare filtration solutions.