Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) Shares Sold by LS Investment Advisors LLC

LS Investment Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR - Free Report) by 24.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 45,077 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 14,444 shares during the quarter. Danaher makes up approximately 1.4% of LS Investment Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. LS Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Danaher were worth $9,241,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DHR. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Danaher during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Danaher in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in Danaher during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC increased its position in Danaher by 63.3% during the fourth quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC now owns 147 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the period. Finally, Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new stake in Danaher in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 79.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Danaher Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DHR traded up $3.98 during trading on Friday, hitting $196.13. 2,802,212 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,477,558. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 1.05. Danaher Co. has a 1 year low of $171.00 and a 1 year high of $281.70. The company has a market cap of $140.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.15, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.80. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $191.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $212.58.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Danaher from $260.00 to $240.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Danaher from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, June 1st. UBS Group reduced their target price 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. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Danaher in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Danaher from $280.00 to $260.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Four equities research 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, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $263.24.

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 shares were 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 $611,036,665.92. This represents a 28.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Christopher Paul Riley sold 15,805 shares of Danaher stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.00, for a total value of $3,129,390.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,179 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,005,442. This represents a 51.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 11.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Danaher Company 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.