Baker Chad R Buys 4,545 Shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

Baker Chad R lifted its stake in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR - Free Report) by 7.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 68,665 shares of the conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 4,545 shares during the period. Danaher accounts for approximately 2.9% of Baker Chad R's holdings, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Baker Chad R's holdings in Danaher were worth $14,076,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in DHR. Norges Bank bought a new position in Danaher during the fourth quarter worth about $2,130,740,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Danaher by 24,958.2% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,870,847 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $383,524,000 after acquiring an additional 1,863,381 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Danaher during the 4th quarter worth approximately $391,172,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its holdings in Danaher by 4,248.8% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 1,639,500 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $376,347,000 after purchasing an additional 1,601,800 shares during the period. Finally, Capital World Investors raised its holdings in Danaher by 32.7% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,361,183 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $1,460,215,000 after purchasing an additional 1,566,658 shares during the period. 79.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 value of $245,925,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 3,105,808 shares in the company, valued at approximately $611,036,665.92. This trade represents a 28.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Christopher Paul Riley sold 15,805 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 11.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on DHR shares. Leerink Partners raised their price objective on Danaher from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Danaher in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Danaher from $240.00 to $248.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. UBS Group lowered their target price on Danaher from $275.00 to $240.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target 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. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Danaher has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $248.17.

Danaher Stock Down 2.2%

Shares of NYSE:DHR traded down $4.59 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $200.51. The company had a trading volume of 3,391,410 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,489,228. Danaher Co. has a 1-year low of $171.00 and a 1-year high of $281.70. The stock has a market cap of $143.50 billion, a PE ratio of 37.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.77. 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 business's 50 day moving average price is $192.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $211.44.

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

Danaher Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.64%. Danaher's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.85%.

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.