Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt Increases Stock Holdings in Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR)

Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt grew its stake in Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR - Free Report) by 26.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,533,000 shares of the conglomerate's stock after buying an additional 324,200 shares during the quarter. Danaher accounts for approximately 1.8% of Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt's portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt owned approximately 0.21% of Danaher worth $314,066,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in DHR. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Danaher by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,983 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $914,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co grew its stake in Danaher by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co now owns 8,287 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $1,902,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Danaher by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC now owns 1,099 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $252,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Danaher by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,343 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $538,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MGO One Seven LLC grew its position in Danaher by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 4,285 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $984,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. 79.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Steven M. Rales sold 1,250,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.74, for a total value of $245,925,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 3,105,808 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $611,036,665.92. This trade represents a 28.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 11.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DHR has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wolfe Research dropped their price objective on shares of Danaher from $275.00 to $220.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. HSBC dropped their target price on shares of Danaher from $270.00 to $240.00 in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Danaher from $260.00 to $230.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Danaher from $280.00 to $260.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $225.00 target price (up previously from $215.00) on shares of Danaher in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Danaher presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $248.48.

Danaher Trading Up 1.0%

Danaher stock traded up $1.97 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $190.04. The stock had a trading volume of 7,052,365 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,548,079. The stock has a market capitalization of $136.01 billion, a PE ratio of 36.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.43. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $196.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $204.86. Danaher Corporation has a twelve month low of $171.00 and a twelve month high of $281.70.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $5.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.83 billion. Danaher had a return on equity of 10.80% and a net margin of 15.81%. Danaher's revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.72 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Danaher Corporation will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

Danaher Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.67%. Danaher's payout ratio is currently 24.85%.

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.