Danaher (NYSE:DHR) Shares Gap Up on Strong Earnings

Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR - Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $184.96, but opened at $198.24. Danaher shares last traded at $195.42, with a volume of 1,158,688 shares trading hands.

The conglomerate reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.26. Danaher had a net margin of 16.33% and a return on equity of 10.82%. The business had revenue of $5.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.58 billion.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 28th were paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 28th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.65%. This is a positive change from Danaher's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Danaher's payout ratio is presently 24.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on DHR shares. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Danaher from $260.00 to $240.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group lowered their price target on Danaher from $275.00 to $240.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Danaher from $280.00 to $240.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Danaher in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Raymond James reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Danaher in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $264.40.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 5,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.13, for a total transaction of $1,277,541.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 20,230 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,534,149.90. This trade represents a 21.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 11.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Danaher

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Danaher by 396.0% in the first quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 124 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Danaher in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Danaher during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Danaher during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new position in Danaher in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 79.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Danaher Trading Up 0.4 %

The business's 50 day simple moving average is $200.87 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $224.27. The stock has a market cap of $141.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.38, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

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.