ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. Buys Shares of 316,788 Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR)

Key Points

• ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. acquired 316,788 shares of Danaher Corporation, valued at approximately $64.9 million, during the first quarter, making it the 16th largest position in its investment portfolio.
• Danaher recently reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $1.80 for the quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations by $0.16, with a revenue of $5.94 billion.
• Several hedge funds have increased their positions in Danaher, with Bank of Nova Scotia seeing a substantial 127.9% increase in shares during the previous quarter.

ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. purchased a new position in shares of Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 316,788 shares of the conglomerate's stock, valued at approximately $64,936,000. Danaher makes up approximately 1.0% of ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in DHR. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG lifted its position in shares of Danaher by 22.8% during the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 192,731 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $44,241,000 after purchasing an additional 35,730 shares in the last quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC lifted its position in shares of Danaher by 21.6% during the fourth quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 5,217 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $1,198,000 after purchasing an additional 928 shares in the last quarter. FIL Ltd lifted its position in shares of Danaher by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 1,623,873 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $372,760,000 after purchasing an additional 99,239 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its position in shares of Danaher by 127.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 497,109 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $114,140,000 after purchasing an additional 278,975 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new stake in shares of Danaher during the fourth quarter worth about $1,559,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.05% of the company's stock.

Danaher Stock Performance

Shares of DHR opened at $199.15 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market cap of $142.60 billion, a PE ratio of 42.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.73. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $197.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $201.85. Danaher Corporation has a 12-month low of $171.00 and a 12-month high of $279.90.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.64 by $0.16. Danaher had a net margin of 14.21% and a return on equity of 10.70%. The business had revenue of $5.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.83 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.72 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Danaher Corporation will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Danaher

In related news, Chairman Steven M. Rales sold 1,250,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 11.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Danaher from $260.00 to $230.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Danaher from $280.00 to $260.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Danaher from $260.00 to $240.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on shares of Danaher from $240.00 to $235.00 in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Danaher from $240.00 to $248.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $247.61.

Danaher Company Profile

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.

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