Americana Partners LLC Sells 14,061 Shares of Danaher Corporation $DHR

Key Points

• Americana Partners cut its Danaher stake by 48.4% in the third quarter, selling 14,061 shares and retaining 15,013 shares valued at approximately $3.33 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 79.05% of DHR.
• Analysts remain generally positive on Danaher, with 18 Buy ratings and five Holds producing a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $242.91. TD Cowen and UBS recently set targets of $270 and $260, respectively.
• Danaher exceeded quarterly EPS expectations, reporting $2.11 versus the $1.92 consensus, while revenue rose 8.3% year over year to $6.55 billion. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share, representing a 0.7% annualized yield.

Americana Partners LLC reduced its stake in Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR - Free Report) by 48.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,013 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 14,061 shares during the quarter. Americana Partners LLC's holdings in Danaher were worth $3,326,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of DHR. Main Street Group LTD acquired a new position in Danaher in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Danaher during the second quarter worth $25,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Danaher by 192.1% during the third quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 111 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Danaher by 208.0% during the first quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. now owns 154 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Field & Main Bank bought a new stake in shares of Danaher in the second quarter valued at about $29,000. 79.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DHR has been the topic of several research reports. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Danaher from $255.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $240.00 price objective on shares of Danaher in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Danaher from $212.00 to $195.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Danaher from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 16th. Finally, UBS Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $260.00 target price on shares of Danaher 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $242.91.

Danaher Stock Down 2.0%

DHR stock opened at $232.22 on Friday. Danaher Corporation has a 52 week low of $160.93 and a 52 week high of $242.80. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $218.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $201.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The company has a market cap of $163.37 billion, a PE ratio of 38.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $6.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.56 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.89 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Danaher Corporation will post 8.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Danaher's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.19%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Christopher Bouda sold 7,598 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.56, for a total transaction of $1,782,186.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 9,107 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,136,137.92. The trade was a 45.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 10.80% of the company's stock.

Danaher Company 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.