Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) Position Reduced by Arthur M. Cohen & Associates LLC

Arthur M. Cohen & Associates LLC reduced its stake in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR - Free Report) by 3.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 206,211 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 6,428 shares during the quarter. Danaher makes up approximately 8.1% of Arthur M. Cohen & Associates LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Arthur M. Cohen & Associates LLC's holdings in Danaher were worth $42,273,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its position in Danaher by 26.9% in the first quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 5,914 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $1,212,000 after acquiring an additional 1,252 shares during the period. Lmcg Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Danaher by 11.0% in the 1st quarter. Lmcg Investments LLC now owns 103,988 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $21,318,000 after purchasing an additional 10,342 shares during the last quarter. Nixon Peabody Trust Co. grew its holdings in shares of Danaher by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Nixon Peabody Trust Co. now owns 61,715 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $12,652,000 after purchasing an additional 443 shares during the period. Strategic Planning Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Danaher by 30.6% during the 1st quarter. Strategic Planning Group LLC now owns 18,649 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $3,823,000 after purchasing an additional 4,373 shares during the period. Finally, Triangle Securities Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Danaher by 50.2% during the 1st quarter. Triangle Securities Wealth Management now owns 5,628 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $1,154,000 after purchasing an additional 1,882 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.05% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Danaher

In other news, EVP Christopher Paul Riley sold 15,805 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.00, for a total transaction of $3,129,390.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,179 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,005,442. This trade represents a 51.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Steven M. Rales sold 1,250,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.74, for a total transaction of $245,925,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 3,105,808 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $611,036,665.92. The trade was a 28.70% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 11.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Danaher Stock Up 2.1%

NYSE:DHR traded up $3.98 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $196.13. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,802,212 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,477,558. The stock has a market capitalization of $140.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.80. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average of $191.42 and a 200-day moving average of $212.58. Danaher Co. has a 52-week low of $171.00 and a 52-week high of $281.70.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $5.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.58 billion. Danaher had a return on equity of 10.82% and a net margin of 16.33%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Danaher Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Investors 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DHR has been the subject of several research analyst reports. HSBC lowered their target price on shares of Danaher from $270.00 to $240.00 in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Danaher in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Danaher from $231.00 to $225.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Danaher from $280.00 to $260.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised Danaher from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $260.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Four equities 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, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $263.24.

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.