Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) Short Interest Up 25.0% in March

Key Points

• Short interest rose 25% in March to 6,939,368 shares (about 1.1% of shares short) with a short-interest ratio of 1.6 days.
• Quarterly dividend increased to $0.40 from $0.32 (annualized $1.60) with an ex-dividend/record date of March 27 and payment on April 24, implying a 0.8% yield.
• Q earnings topped estimates—EPS $2.23 vs. $2.14 expected and revenue $6.84B vs. $6.79B, with revenue up 4.6% YoY; analysts maintain a "Moderate Buy" consensus and an average price target of $247.35.

Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR - Get Free Report) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 6,939,368 shares, a growth of 25.0% from the March 15th total of 5,550,751 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 4,337,469 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.6 days. Approximately 1.1% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Danaher Price Performance

DHR traded down $3.89 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $194.25. 1,436,997 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,978,038. The firm has a market capitalization of $137.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Danaher has a one year low of $180.03 and a one year high of $242.80. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $199.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $214.77.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR - Get Free Report) last posted 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 company had revenue of $6.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.79 billion. Danaher had a net margin of 14.71% and a return on equity of 10.81%. The company's revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.14 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Danaher will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 27th. This is a positive change from Danaher's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Danaher's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.75%.

Insider Transactions at Danaher

In other Danaher news, EVP Gregory M. Milosevich sold 1,320 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.01, for a total transaction of $274,573.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 5,099 shares in the company, valued at $1,060,642.99. This represents a 20.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 10.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Danaher

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Danaher by 6.3% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,009 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $397,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Danaher by 34.5% in the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 55,418 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $10,947,000 after purchasing an additional 14,217 shares in the last quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC increased its holdings in shares of Danaher by 40.2% in the second quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 3,088 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $610,000 after purchasing an additional 886 shares in the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Danaher by 64.2% in the second quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 75,714 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $14,957,000 after purchasing an additional 29,592 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HUB Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Danaher by 30.7% in the second quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,383 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $273,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.05% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DHR has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Danaher in a report on Friday, March 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Danaher from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Danaher from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Danaher in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Danaher from $270.00 to $245.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Danaher presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $247.35.

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.

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