Banque Pictet & Cie SA Raises Stock Holdings in Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR)

Banque Pictet & Cie SA increased its position in shares of Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR - Free Report) by 181.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 54,644 shares of the conglomerate's stock after acquiring an additional 35,262 shares during the period. Banque Pictet & Cie SA's holdings in Danaher were worth $11,202,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Danaher by 396.0% during the 1st quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 124 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 99 shares during the period. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Danaher during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Sierra Ocean LLC lifted its holdings in Danaher by 116.9% during the 1st quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC now owns 141 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the period. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Danaher during the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new position in Danaher during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Institutional investors own 79.05% of the company's stock.

Danaher Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of Danaher stock traded down $0.71 on Friday, hitting $204.80. The company had a trading volume of 2,369,010 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,508,130. The stock has a market capitalization of $146.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.77. Danaher Corporation has a 1 year low of $171.00 and a 1 year high of $281.70. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $196.05 and a 200-day moving average of $206.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.43.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $5.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.58 billion. Danaher had a return on equity of 10.80% and a net margin of 15.81%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Danaher Corporation will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Danaher Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 27th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.63%. Danaher's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Danaher from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Danaher from $260.00 to $240.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Danaher from $280.00 to $260.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Scotiabank upgraded Danaher from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and set a $275.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Danaher in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Three equities research 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 presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $248.43.

Insider Activity at Danaher

In other news, Chairman Steven M. Rales sold 1,250,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $196.74, for a total value 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 represents a 28.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher Paul Riley sold 15,805 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.00, for a total value of $3,129,390.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 15,179 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,005,442. The trade was a 51.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 11.10% of the company's stock.

Danaher 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.