Danaher Corporation $DHR Shares Bought by Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd.

Key Points

• Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings increased its Danaher stake by 220,000 shares in the third quarter, ending with 220,009 shares valued at about $48.8 million. Institutional investors collectively own 79.05% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive: 18 analysts rate Danaher a Buy and five a Hold, for an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $242.91.
• Danaher’s latest quarterly earnings beat expectations, with EPS of $2.11 versus a $1.92 estimate; revenue rose 8.3% year over year to $6.55 billion, slightly below consensus.

Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR - Free Report) by 2,444,444.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 220,009 shares of the conglomerate's stock after buying an additional 220,000 shares during the quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd.'s holdings in Danaher were worth $48,831,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of DHR. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Danaher during the 2nd quarter worth $10,492,520,000. Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new stake in shares of Danaher during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,456,317,000. Generation Investment Management LLP acquired a new position in shares of Danaher in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,287,949,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of Danaher in the 2nd quarter valued at $993,846,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in shares of Danaher in the 2nd quarter valued at $801,056,000. 79.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on DHR shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Danaher from $212.00 to $195.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Guggenheim raised their target price on Danaher from $200.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 1st. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Danaher from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, October 12th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Danaher from $246.00 to $254.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Finally, DZ Bank downgraded shares of Danaher from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 27th. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Danaher currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $242.91.

Insider Transactions at Danaher

In related news, EVP Gregory M. Milosevich sold 2,100 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.62, for a total value of $484,302.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 22,367 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,158,277.54. The trade was a 8.58% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Christopher Bouda sold 7,598 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.56, for a total value of $1,782,186.88. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 9,107 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,136,137.92. The trade was a 45.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 10.80% of the company's stock.

Danaher Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of DHR traded up $1.00 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $233.16. The stock had a trading volume of 3,359,470 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,152,061. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. Danaher Corporation has a 52 week low of $160.93 and a 52 week high of $242.80. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $222.56 and a 200 day moving average of $201.52. The company has a market cap of $164.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.76.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 21st. The conglomerate reported $2.11 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.92 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $6.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.56 billion. Danaher had a return on equity of 11.17% and a net margin of 16.91%. The firm's revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.89 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Danaher Corporation will post 8.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Danaher's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.19%.

Danaher Profile

Danaher is a global science and technology company that develops and supplies products and services for biotechnology, life sciences, and diagnostics markets. Its offerings include instruments, reagents, consumables, software, and services used in research, drug development and manufacturing, and clinical testing. The company's businesses include well-known brands such as Cytiva and Pall in bioprocessing and filtration, Beckman Coulter in laboratory and clinical diagnostics, Cepheid in molecular diagnostics, and Leica Microsystems in microscopy.

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