Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) Shares Sold by DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main

DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main lessened its stake in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR - Free Report) by 91.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 318,229 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 3,601,092 shares during the quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main's holdings in Danaher were worth $73,049,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of DHR. Gilbert & Cook Inc. lifted its position in Danaher by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 1,749 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $401,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Grimes & Company Inc. lifted its stake in Danaher by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. now owns 7,390 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $1,696,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA boosted its holdings in shares of Danaher by 16.4% in the 4th quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 320 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $73,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Spinnaker Trust increased its stake in shares of Danaher by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Spinnaker Trust now owns 4,304 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $988,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Fortis Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Danaher by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,983 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $914,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.05% of the company's stock.

Danaher Price Performance

NYSE DHR traded down $5.40 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $189.42. 4,535,806 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,411,207. The company has a market capitalization of $135.56 billion, a PE ratio of 35.88, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 1.05. Danaher Co. has a 52-week low of $171.00 and a 52-week high of $281.70. The firm's 50-day moving average is $198.39 and its 200-day moving average is $219.21.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $5.74 billion during 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%. Equities analysts forecast that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Investors of record on Friday, June 27th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.68%. Danaher's payout ratio is currently 24.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Danaher from $280.00 to $260.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Danaher in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Danaher from $280.00 to $240.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Danaher from $275.00 to $240.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Danaher from $260.00 to $230.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $264.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Christopher Paul Riley sold 15,805 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.00, for a total transaction of $3,129,390.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,179 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,005,442. This trade represents a 51.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 11.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Danaher Company 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.