9,619 Danaher Corporation $DHR Shares Acquired by Factory Mutual Insurance Co.

Key Points

• Factory Mutual Insurance Co. increased its Danaher stake by 3.5%, buying 9,619 shares in the third quarter to hold 281,019 shares valued at about $62.3 million.
• Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.05% of Danaher’s shares. Danaher’s chief accounting officer sold 7,598 shares, reducing his direct ownership by 45.48%.
• Danaher beat quarterly EPS estimates, reporting $2.11 versus $1.92 expected; revenue rose 8.3% year over year to $6.55 billion. Analysts’ consensus rating is “Moderate Buy,” with an average price target of $242.91.

Factory Mutual Insurance Co. increased its stake in Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR - Free Report) by 3.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 281,019 shares of the conglomerate's stock after buying an additional 9,619 shares during the period. Factory Mutual Insurance Co.'s holdings in Danaher were worth $62,260,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Danaher during the 2nd quarter worth $10,492,520,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Danaher by 10.4% in the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 16,316,834 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $3,108,031,000 after purchasing an additional 1,542,310 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Danaher in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,456,317,000. Generation Investment Management LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Danaher in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,287,949,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in shares of Danaher during the second quarter worth about $993,846,000. 79.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Danaher news, CAO Christopher Bouda sold 7,598 shares of Danaher stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.56, for a total value of $1,782,186.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 9,107 shares in the company, valued at $2,136,137.92. The trade was a 45.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 10.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DHR has been the subject of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $275.00 price target on shares of Danaher in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. DZ Bank cut Danaher from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 27th. Guggenheim increased their target price on Danaher from $200.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 1st. Wall Street Zen raised Danaher from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, October 26th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Danaher from $220.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $242.91.

Danaher Trading Up 0.9%

Danaher stock opened at $229.99 on Wednesday. The firm's 50-day moving average is $219.38 and its 200-day moving average is $201.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.63. Danaher Corporation has a 1 year low of $160.93 and a 1 year high of $242.80. The company has a market cap of $161.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.64, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.76.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 21st. The conglomerate reported $2.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.92 by $0.19. Danaher had a net margin of 16.91% and a return on equity of 11.17%. The business had revenue of $6.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.89 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Danaher Corporation will post 8.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Danaher Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 30th. Danaher's payout ratio is presently 26.19%.

Danaher Profile

Danaher Corporation NYSE: DHR is a global science and technology company that develops products, services and solutions for the life sciences, biotechnology and diagnostics markets. Its offerings help researchers, pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, healthcare providers and other organizations conduct scientific research, develop and manufacture medicines, and diagnose disease.

The company operates through businesses that provide bioprocessing equipment and technologies, laboratory instruments, consumables, analytical tools and clinical diagnostic systems.

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