Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) Holdings Cut by QRG Capital Management Inc.

QRG Capital Management Inc. trimmed its position in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR - Free Report) by 16.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 90,213 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 18,050 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Danaher were worth $18,494,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Danaher during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of Danaher during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Danaher during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Danaher during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new position in Danaher in the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. 79.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Danaher from $260.00 to $230.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Danaher from $240.00 to $230.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wolfe Research lowered their price target on shares of Danaher from $275.00 to $220.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Argus cut their price objective on shares of Danaher from $260.00 to $240.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Danaher from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $248.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Christopher Paul Riley sold 15,805 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman Steven M. Rales sold 1,250,000 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the chairman now directly owns 3,105,808 shares in the company, valued at $611,036,665.92. The trade was a 28.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 11.10% of the company's stock.

Danaher Price Performance

NYSE:DHR traded up $0.47 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $201.14. 3,142,903 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,489,414. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The company has a market capitalization of $143.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.77. Danaher Co. has a 12 month low of $171.00 and a 12 month high of $281.70. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $192.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $210.81.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.88 earnings per share (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 analyst estimates of $5.58 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.64%. Danaher's dividend payout ratio is presently 24.85%.

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.