Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Boosts Stock Position in Danaher Corporation $DHR

Key Points

• Arrowstreet Capital boosted its Danaher stake by 33.9% in the quarter to 3,519,013 shares (about 0.50% of the company), adding 891,210 shares and bringing its holding to roughly $697.7 million.
• Danaher increased its quarterly dividend to $0.40 (from $0.32), implying a $1.60 annual payout and a 0.9% yield; the ex-dividend date is March 27 and payment is scheduled for April 24.
• Danaher recently beat estimates with $2.23 EPS (vs. $2.14) and $6.84 billion in revenue, and analysts maintain a "Moderate Buy" consensus with an average price target of $253.86.

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its stake in Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR - Free Report) by 33.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,519,013 shares of the conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 891,210 shares during the quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership owned about 0.50% of Danaher worth $697,680,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. White Pine Capital LLC boosted its stake in Danaher by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. White Pine Capital LLC now owns 3,494 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $690,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. SOL Capital Management CO increased its position in shares of Danaher by 2.8% during the third quarter. SOL Capital Management CO now owns 1,829 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $363,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Purkiss Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Danaher by 3.9% during the third quarter. Purkiss Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,327 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $263,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. TCTC Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Danaher by 0.7% in the third quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 7,439 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $1,475,000 after buying an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Howard Capital Management Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Danaher by 4.8% in the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 1,159 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $230,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the period. 79.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Danaher news, EVP Gregory M. Milosevich sold 1,320 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.01, for a total value of $274,573.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 5,099 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,060,642.99. The trade was a 20.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 11.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Danaher Stock Down 4.4%

Shares of DHR opened at $186.39 on Friday. Danaher Corporation has a 1 year low of $171.00 and a 1 year high of $242.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.87 and a quick ratio of 1.51. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $219.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $215.49. The firm has a market cap of $131.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.93.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The conglomerate reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.14 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $6.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.79 billion. Danaher had a net margin of 14.71% and a return on equity of 10.81%. The business's revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.14 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Danaher Corporation will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 24th. Investors of record on Friday, March 27th will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 27th. This is a boost from Danaher's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Danaher's dividend payout ratio is 25.40%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on DHR shares. Leerink Partners boosted their price objective on shares of Danaher from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 16th. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Danaher in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "buy" rating on shares of Danaher in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $254.00 price target on shares of Danaher in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Danaher from $270.00 to $265.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $253.86.

Danaher Profile

Danaher Corporation NYSE: DHR is a global science and technology company that designs, manufactures and markets products and services for the life sciences, diagnostics, and environmental and applied markets. The company organizes its operations into business segments focused on Life Sciences, Diagnostics, and Environmental & Applied Solutions, supplying instruments, reagents, software and related services that support research, clinical testing, biopharmaceutical development, and industrial and environmental monitoring.

Products and services in Danaher's portfolio include analytical and diagnostic instruments, laboratory consumables and reagents, digital and software solutions for workflow and data management, field and industrial monitoring equipment, and service and maintenance programs.

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