Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) Holdings Decreased by Generali Investments Management Co LLC

Generali Investments Management Co LLC cut its position in shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR - Free Report) by 19.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,833 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 3,098 shares during the quarter. Generali Investments Management Co LLC's holdings in Danaher were worth $2,631,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Insider Transactions at Danaher

In other news, Chairman Steven M. Rales sold 1,250,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $196.74, for a total transaction of $245,925,000.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 3,105,808 shares of the company's stock, valued at $611,036,665.92. The trade was a 28.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Christopher Paul Riley sold 15,805 shares of Danaher stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $3,005,442. This represents a 51.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 11.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Danaher Price Performance

Shares of DHR traded up $3.98 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $196.13. The stock had a trading volume of 2,802,212 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,481,847. Danaher Co. has a 52 week low of $171.00 and a 52 week high of $281.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $191.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $212.34. The company has a market capitalization of $140.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.77.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR - Get Free Report) last posted 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 return on equity of 10.82% and a net margin of 16.33%. The company had revenue of $5.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.58 billion. On average, analysts forecast that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Dividend Announcement

The business 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 0.65%. Danaher's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on DHR. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Danaher from $260.00 to $230.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Danaher from $280.00 to $260.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Danaher from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $260.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, March 14th. HSBC decreased their target price on Danaher from $270.00 to $240.00 in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Danaher from $260.00 to $240.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.