Artemis Investment Management LLP Takes $13.23 Million Position in Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR)

Artemis Investment Management LLP bought a new position in Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 64,514 shares of the conglomerate's stock, valued at approximately $13,225,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of DHR. Canvas Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Danaher during the first quarter valued at approximately $334,000. Diversified Trust Co increased its holdings in shares of Danaher by 6.9% in the 1st quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 5,861 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $1,202,000 after acquiring an additional 379 shares during the last quarter. CNB Bank raised its position in shares of Danaher by 11.8% during the 1st quarter. CNB Bank now owns 4,221 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $865,000 after acquiring an additional 444 shares in the last quarter. Nadler Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Danaher by 32.1% in the first quarter. Nadler Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,900 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $390,000 after purchasing an additional 462 shares during the period. Finally, PDS Planning Inc increased its stake in Danaher by 13.0% during the first quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 3,787 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $776,000 after purchasing an additional 436 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.05% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Danaher

In other news, Chairman Steven M. Rales sold 1,250,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $196.74, for a total transaction of $245,925,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 3,105,808 shares of the company's stock, valued at $611,036,665.92. This trade represents a 28.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher Paul Riley sold 15,805 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owned 15,179 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,005,442. This represents a 51.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 11.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Danaher from $260.00 to $230.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Danaher from $231.00 to $225.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Danaher in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wolfe Research lowered their price objective on Danaher from $275.00 to $220.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their target price on Danaher from $240.00 to $248.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Danaher currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $248.61.

Danaher Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of NYSE:DHR traded up $3.41 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $200.95. The stock had a trading volume of 3,043,926 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,509,143. The company's 50 day moving average is $195.09 and its 200-day moving average is $207.89. Danaher Corporation has a 12-month low of $171.00 and a 12-month high of $281.70. 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 company has a market cap of $143.81 billion, a PE ratio of 39.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.77.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.26. Danaher had a return on equity of 10.80% and a net margin of 15.81%. The business had revenue of $5.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.58 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 27th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.64%. Danaher's dividend payout ratio is 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.