Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) Shares Sold by Bath Savings Trust Co

Bath Savings Trust Co decreased its holdings in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR - Free Report) by 4.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 69,579 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 3,260 shares during the quarter. Danaher accounts for approximately 1.5% of Bath Savings Trust Co's holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Bath Savings Trust Co's holdings in Danaher were worth $14,264,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in DHR. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Danaher during the 4th quarter worth $2,130,740,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Danaher during the fourth quarter valued at $391,172,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its holdings in shares of Danaher by 4,248.8% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 1,639,500 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $376,347,000 after purchasing an additional 1,601,800 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in shares of Danaher by 32.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,361,183 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $1,460,215,000 after acquiring an additional 1,566,658 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in Danaher by 460.6% during the fourth quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,348,544 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $309,558,000 after purchasing an additional 1,107,998 shares in the last quarter. 79.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Steven M. Rales sold 1,250,000 shares of Danaher stock in a transaction 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 owns 3,105,808 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $611,036,665.92. This trade represents a 28.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing 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 on 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,179 shares of the company's stock, 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. Insiders own 11.20% of the company's stock.

Danaher Stock Performance

NYSE:DHR traded down $0.93 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $189.54. The company had a trading volume of 6,514,078 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,479,894. 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 business's 50 day moving average price is $192.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $213.78. The firm has a market cap of $135.65 billion, a PE ratio of 35.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.80.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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. Danaher had a net margin of 16.33% and a return on equity of 10.82%. The firm had revenue of $5.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.58 billion. Research analysts forecast that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

Danaher Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 27th will be given 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 (DPR) is presently 24.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on DHR. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Danaher in a research note on Monday, April 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Danaher from $280.00 to $260.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Danaher from $260.00 to $240.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Danaher from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Danaher from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Danaher currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $263.24.

About Danaher

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.