Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Acquires 8,093 Shares of Danaher Corporation $DHR

Key Points

• Banque Cantonale Vaudoise increased its Danaher stake by 30.1% in the first quarter, buying 8,093 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 34,989 shares worth about $6.6 million.
• Several other institutional investors also boosted their positions, and overall institutional ownership of Danaher stands at 79.05%, underscoring continued professional investor interest in the stock.
• Analysts have trimmed price targets but remain generally constructive: Danaher has a Moderate Buy consensus rating with an average target price of $233.61, while the company also reported Q1 EPS of $2.06, beating estimates, and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share.

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise increased its holdings in Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR - Free Report) by 30.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 34,989 shares of the conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 8,093 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise's holdings in Danaher were worth $6,635,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DHR. Apella Capital LLC boosted its stake in Danaher by 28.6% in the 1st quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 2,996 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $583,000 after buying an additional 667 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Danaher by 8.1% in the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 38,919 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $7,379,000 after purchasing an additional 2,926 shares in the last quarter. Burns J W & Co. Inc. NY grew its holdings in shares of Danaher by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Burns J W & Co. Inc. NY now owns 40,051 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $7,594,000 after purchasing an additional 734 shares during the last quarter. EdgeRock Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Danaher by 8.9% during the 1st quarter. EdgeRock Capital LLC now owns 2,675 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $508,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cidel Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Danaher by 23.0% during the 1st quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,946 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $559,000 after purchasing an additional 550 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.05% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DHR has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Argus reduced their price target on shares of Danaher from $265.00 to $230.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Danaher from $240.00 to $212.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. UBS Group reduced their target price on Danaher from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Danaher from $270.00 to $255.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on Danaher in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $230.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $233.61.

Danaher Stock Performance

Shares of Danaher stock opened at $188.78 on Thursday. 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 firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $178.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $201.96. Danaher Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $160.93 and a fifty-two week high of $242.80. The firm has a market cap of $133.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.81.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 20th. The conglomerate reported $2.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $5.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6 billion. Danaher had a return on equity of 10.91% and a net margin of 14.89%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.88 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Danaher Corporation will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Investors of record on Friday, June 26th will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 26th. Danaher's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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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