Boston Common Asset Management LLC Raises Holdings in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

Boston Common Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR - Free Report) by 5.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 90,817 shares of the conglomerate's stock after buying an additional 4,995 shares during the quarter. Boston Common Asset Management LLC's holdings in Danaher were worth $18,617,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Park National Corp OH grew its position in shares of Danaher by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Park National Corp OH now owns 83,769 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $17,173,000 after buying an additional 446 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its position in shares of Danaher by 8.2% in the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 109,208 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $22,388,000 after purchasing an additional 8,293 shares during the period. Fire Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Danaher in the 4th quarter worth about $823,000. DSG Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Danaher in the 4th quarter worth about $802,000. Finally, Chancellor Financial Group WB LP purchased a new stake in shares of Danaher in the 4th quarter worth about $657,000. 79.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Danaher Stock Performance

NYSE:DHR traded down $0.67 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $189.23. 1,291,458 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,336,451. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $192.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $213.41. Danaher Co. has a one year low of $171.00 and a one year high of $281.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The firm has a market cap of $135.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.80.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR - Get Free Report) last released 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 net margin of 16.33% and a return on equity of 10.82%. The firm had revenue of $5.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.58 billion. Research analysts anticipate that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Investors of record on Friday, June 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.68%. Danaher's dividend payout ratio is currently 24.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on DHR shares. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Danaher from $260.00 to $240.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Danaher from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday. UBS Group lowered their target price on Danaher from $275.00 to $240.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Barclays lifted their price objective on Danaher from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Danaher in a report on Monday, April 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $263.24.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Danaher news, Chairman Steven M. Rales sold 1,250,000 shares of the business'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 sale, the chairman now owns 3,105,808 shares in the company, valued at approximately $611,036,665.92. The trade was a 28.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Christopher Paul Riley sold 15,805 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 now owns 15,179 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,005,442. The trade was a 51.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 11.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.