Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich Sells 13,465 Shares of Danaher Corporation $DHR

Key Points

• Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich trimmed its Danaher stake by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, selling 13,465 shares and leaving it with 1,286,094 shares worth about $294.6 million.
• Danaher continues to draw strong institutional interest, with institutional investors owning 79.05% of the company and several large funds recently increasing their positions.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on the stock: Danaher has a Moderate Buy consensus and average price target of $240.70, even as some firms recently lowered their targets.

Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich lowered its position in shares of Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR - Free Report) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,286,094 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 13,465 shares during the quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich owned 0.18% of Danaher worth $294,638,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital International Investors lifted its position in shares of Danaher by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 16,758,240 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $3,318,926,000 after buying an additional 312,951 shares in the last quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP grew its stake in shares of Danaher by 34.0% during the 3rd quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP now owns 6,654,666 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $1,319,354,000 after acquiring an additional 1,689,020 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in Danaher by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,452,118 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $882,677,000 after acquiring an additional 211,053 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Danaher by 0.7% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 4,369,219 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $866,241,000 after purchasing an additional 28,583 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in Danaher by 104.7% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,333,056 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $991,923,000 after purchasing an additional 2,216,789 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.05% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of Danaher from $245.00 to $240.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Wolfe Research lowered their target price on shares of Danaher from $260.00 to $230.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Danaher from $265.00 to $230.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 13th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $205.00 price target on Danaher in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Leerink Partners boosted their price objective on Danaher from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $240.70.

Insider Transactions at Danaher

In other Danaher news, EVP Gregory M. Milosevich sold 1,320 shares of Danaher stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.01, for a total transaction of $274,573.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 5,099 shares in the company, valued at $1,060,642.99. The trade was a 20.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 10.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Danaher Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of Danaher stock opened at $165.98 on Thursday. Danaher Corporation has a 1 year low of $163.32 and a 1 year high of $242.80. The firm has a market cap of $117.48 billion, a PE ratio of 32.10, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.87 and a quick ratio of 1.52. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $187.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $211.13.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 20th. The conglomerate reported $2.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.12. Danaher had a net margin of 14.89% and a return on equity of 10.91%. The business had revenue of $5.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.88 earnings per share. Danaher's revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Danaher Corporation will post 8.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 26th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 26th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Danaher's payout ratio is presently 30.95%.

About Danaher

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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