UBS Group Has Lowered Expectations for Danaher (NYSE:DHR) Stock Price

Danaher (NYSE:DHR - Free Report) had its price objective lowered by UBS Group from $240.00 to $225.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the conglomerate's stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on Danaher from $240.00 to $235.00 in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Leerink Partners increased their price target on Danaher from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Bank of America cut their price target on Danaher from $265.00 to $230.00 in a report on Monday, April 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Danaher from $260.00 to $240.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Wolfe Research cut their price target on Danaher from $275.00 to $220.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Danaher has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $247.61.

Danaher Price Performance

Shares of Danaher stock traded up $2.79 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $205.60. 5,355,676 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,965,185. The business has a 50-day moving average of $196.38 and a 200 day moving average of $203.68. Danaher has a fifty-two week low of $171.00 and a fifty-two week high of $281.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $147.22 billion, a PE ratio of 43.74, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.64 by $0.16. Danaher had a return on equity of 10.70% and a net margin of 14.21%. The business had revenue of $5.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.83 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.72 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Danaher will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

Danaher Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 27th were given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.62%. Danaher's dividend payout ratio is currently 27.23%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Steven M. Rales sold 1,250,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $196.74, for a total transaction of $245,925,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 3,105,808 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $611,036,665.92. This represents a 28.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Christopher Paul Riley sold 15,805 shares of the company'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 directly owned 15,179 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,005,442. This represents a 51.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 11.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Danaher

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Danaher by 20.6% in the 4th quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 9,597 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $2,203,000 after purchasing an additional 1,639 shares during the last quarter. Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. purchased a new stake in Danaher during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $539,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC raised its stake in Danaher by 20,400.0% during the 1st quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 8,200 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $1,681,000 after acquiring an additional 8,160 shares during the last quarter. Vision Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Danaher during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $461,000. Finally, Eos Management L.P. raised its stake in Danaher by 55.8% during the 1st quarter. Eos Management L.P. now owns 40,567 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $8,316,000 after acquiring an additional 14,537 shares during the last quarter. 79.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Danaher

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.