Danaher Corporation $DHR Shares Bought by Merit Financial Group LLC

Key Points

• Merit Financial Group raised its Danaher stake by 32.6% in Q4 to 27,400 shares (worth $6.27M) according to a Form 13F, with institutions owning about 79.05% of the stock.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive—18 Buys and 3 Holds—giving Danaher an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $246.50, amid mixed target revisions from firms like Guggenheim, JPMorgan, Evercore and TD Cowen.
• Danaher beat quarterly EPS expectations ($2.23 vs. $2.14) and reported revenue up 4.6% year-over-year, and the company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.40 (annualized $1.60, ~0.8% yield).

Merit Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR - Free Report) by 32.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 27,400 shares of the conglomerate's stock after acquiring an additional 6,737 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in Danaher were worth $6,273,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Danaher during the third quarter worth about $25,000. WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new position in Danaher during the second quarter worth about $26,000. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd acquired a new position in Danaher during the third quarter worth about $27,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Danaher during the third quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Tripletail Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Danaher during the third quarter worth about $31,000. 79.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on DHR. Guggenheim boosted their target price on Danaher from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 2nd. Evercore reduced their target price on Danaher from $254.00 to $225.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 6th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on Danaher from $270.00 to $245.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Danaher from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Danaher in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $246.50.

Danaher Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DHR opened at $194.77 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The business's 50 day moving average is $198.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $214.79. The company has a market cap of $137.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.95. Danaher Corporation has a 12 month low of $180.03 and a 12 month high of $242.80.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The conglomerate reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.14 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $6.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.79 billion. Danaher had a return on equity of 10.81% and a net margin of 14.71%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.14 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Danaher Corporation will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 27th will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 27th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. This is an increase from Danaher's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Danaher's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.75%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Gregory M. Milosevich sold 1,320 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.01, for a total transaction of $274,573.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 5,099 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,060,642.99. The trade was a 20.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 10.80% of the company's stock.

Danaher Profile

Danaher Corporation NYSE: DHR is a global science and technology company that designs, manufactures and markets products and services for the life sciences, diagnostics, and environmental and applied markets. The company organizes its operations into business segments focused on Life Sciences, Diagnostics, and Environmental & Applied Solutions, supplying instruments, reagents, software and related services that support research, clinical testing, biopharmaceutical development, and industrial and environmental monitoring.

Products and services in Danaher's portfolio include analytical and diagnostic instruments, laboratory consumables and reagents, digital and software solutions for workflow and data management, field and industrial monitoring equipment, and service and maintenance programs.

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