Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) Shares Sold by Central Bank & Trust Co.

Central Bank & Trust Co. lessened its holdings in shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR - Free Report) by 54.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,049 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 3,599 shares during the period. Central Bank & Trust Co.'s holdings in Danaher were worth $625,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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 during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Danaher in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of Danaher in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Danaher by 63.3% during the 4th quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC now owns 147 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Danaher in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.05% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related 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 completion of the sale, 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 filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Steven M. Rales sold 1,250,000 shares of the 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 $611,036,665.92. This trade represents a 28.70% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 11.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Danaher Trading Up 2.1%

NYSE:DHR opened at $196.13 on Friday. The stock 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 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.40. Danaher Co. has a 1 year low of $171.00 and a 1 year high of $281.70. The business has a fifty day moving average of $191.34 and a 200-day moving average of $212.19.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.88 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 net margin of 16.33% and a return on equity of 10.82%. Equities analysts predict that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Danaher Announces Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.65%. Danaher's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Danaher from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $260.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, March 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Danaher from $280.00 to $260.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price 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 lifted their price objective on shares of Danaher from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on Danaher from $275.00 to $240.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $263.24.

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.

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