Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) Stake Reduced by Chesley Taft & Associates LLC

Chesley Taft & Associates LLC decreased its position in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR - Free Report) by 49.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 38,031 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 36,810 shares during the period. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC's holdings in Danaher were worth $7,796,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Danaher in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Danaher during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in Danaher in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Danaher by 63.3% in the fourth quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC now owns 147 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new position in Danaher during the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Institutional investors own 79.05% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Danaher news, Chairman Steven M. Rales sold 1,250,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chairman now directly owns 3,105,808 shares in the company, valued at approximately $611,036,665.92. This trade represents a 28.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Christopher Paul Riley sold 15,805 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.00, for a total transaction of $3,129,390.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,179 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,005,442. This trade represents a 51.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 11.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on DHR. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Danaher from $275.00 to $240.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Danaher from $280.00 to $260.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Barclays boosted their target price on Danaher from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Danaher from $231.00 to $225.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Danaher in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Danaher currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $263.24.

Danaher Stock Up 2.1%

NYSE:DHR traded up $3.98 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $196.13. The stock had a trading volume of 2,802,212 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,477,558. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $191.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $212.58. The company has a market cap of $140.36 billion, a PE ratio of 37.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.80. Danaher Co. has a 1-year low of $171.00 and a 1-year high of $281.70.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $5.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.58 billion. Danaher had a return on equity of 10.82% and a net margin of 16.33%. Analysts predict that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

Danaher Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 27th will be given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.65%. Danaher's payout ratio is currently 24.85%.

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.