Danaher Corporation $DHR Shares Purchased by AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc

Key Points

• AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc boosted its stake in Danaher by 81.1% during Q4 to 328,147 shares worth about $75.14 million, making DHR 0.9% of its portfolio and its 22nd largest holding.
• Danaher agreed to settle shareholder litigation for roughly $172.5 million, and sentiment has been pressured by rising short interest and mixed analyst actions including several price-target cuts.
• Danaher beat quarterly EPS expectations ($2.06 vs. $1.94), set FY2026 guidance of $8.35–8.55 EPS, and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.40 (annualized $1.60, ~0.9% yield).

AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc lifted its stake in shares of Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR - Free Report) by 81.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 328,147 shares of the conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 146,929 shares during the quarter. Danaher comprises 0.9% of AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc's portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc's holdings in Danaher were worth $75,136,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Danaher in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Danaher in the third quarter worth about $25,000. WFA of San Diego LLC bought a new position in shares of Danaher in the second quarter worth about $26,000. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd acquired a new stake in Danaher during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Danaher during the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 79.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Danaher

In related news, EVP Gregory M. Milosevich sold 1,320 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.01, for a total value of $274,573.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 5,099 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,060,642.99. This trade represents a 20.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 10.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DHR has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. KeyCorp reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Danaher in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Danaher from $240.00 to $212.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $205.00 target price on shares of Danaher in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Leerink Partners upped their target price on shares of Danaher from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Danaher in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $240.70.

Key Headlines Impacting Danaher

Here are the key news stories impacting Danaher this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Guggenheim reiterated a Buy rating on Danaher, supporting demand-side interest from institutional buyers. Guggenheim Reaffirms Buy
• Positive Sentiment: An analyst price-target lift to $232 signals buy-side upside vs. current levels, which can support the stock if investors focus on medium-term earnings guidance. Price Target Raised to $232
• Neutral Sentiment: Danaher priced ~€3.0 billion of euro-denominated senior notes across maturities (2028–2038). This raises liquidity for operations or M&A but increases long-term debt on the balance sheet. Senior Notes Offering
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage pieces question whether the recent share weakness makes DHR an attractive value play — useful for long-term investors but not an immediate catalyst. Valuation Article
• Negative Sentiment: Danaher agreed to settle shareholder litigation tied to its post‑pandemic outlook for about $172.5M, a direct hit to cash and a reminder of past forecasting issues; that likely pressured sentiment. Settlement Report
• Negative Sentiment: Short interest rose ~17.8% to 8.18M shares as of April 15 (≈1.3% of float; short-interest ratio ~2.5 days), indicating increased speculative/hedged bearish positioning that can amplify downward moves.
• Negative Sentiment: Morgan Stanley trimmed its price target (from $270 to $255), and UBS issued a pessimistic forecast—both moves add analyst-driven downside pressure despite differing target levels. Morgan Stanley PT Cut UBS Forecast
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts/commentary flag Danaher’s Masimo acquisition as adding long-term potential but creating near-term margin and integration pressure, a nearer-term risk to earnings momentum. Masimo Deal Commentary

Danaher Price Performance

DHR stock opened at $177.31 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $125.49 billion, a PE ratio of 34.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.95. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $195.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $213.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Danaher Corporation has a 1 year low of $175.00 and a 1 year high of $242.80.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The conglomerate reported $2.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $5.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6 billion. Danaher had a return on equity of 10.91% and a net margin of 14.89%.Danaher's revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.88 EPS. Danaher has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.350-8.550 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Danaher Corporation will post 8.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 27th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 27th. This is a positive change from Danaher's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Danaher's dividend payout ratio is 30.95%.

Danaher Company 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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