Danaher Corporation $DHR Shares Sold by Harvest Portfolios Group Inc.

Key Points

• Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. cut its Danaher stake by 4.4% in the fourth quarter, selling 12,867 shares and leaving it with 279,688 shares valued at about $64.0 million.
• Institutional interest remains high, with hedge funds and other investors owning 79.05% of Danaher’s shares; several firms, including Viking Global and Massachusetts Financial Services, significantly increased their holdings.
• Analysts are still mostly positive on DHR, with 19 Buy ratings and 3 Hold ratings, though several firms trimmed price targets; the consensus rating is “Moderate Buy” with an average target of $238.65.

Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. reduced its stake in Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR - Free Report) by 4.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 279,688 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 12,867 shares during the period. Danaher makes up about 1.1% of Harvest Portfolios Group Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc.'s holdings in Danaher were worth $64,026,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DHR. Viking Global Investors LP boosted its stake in Danaher by 543.9% during the 2nd quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 2,907,515 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $574,351,000 after acquiring an additional 2,455,994 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in Danaher by 104.7% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,333,056 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $991,923,000 after acquiring an additional 2,216,789 shares during the last quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP boosted its stake in Danaher by 34.0% during the 3rd quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP now owns 6,654,666 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $1,319,354,000 after acquiring an additional 1,689,020 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Danaher by 211.7% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,088,089 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $414,038,000 after acquiring an additional 1,418,243 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in Danaher by 33.9% during the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,519,013 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $697,680,000 after acquiring an additional 891,210 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.05% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on DHR. Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on shares of Danaher in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $200.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Danaher from $240.00 to $212.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Danaher in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Guggenheim decreased their target price on Danaher from $275.00 to $235.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on Danaher from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $238.65.

Danaher Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DHR opened at $166.97 on Wednesday. The business's fifty day moving average price is $184.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $209.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $118.18 billion, a PE ratio of 32.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.87 and a quick ratio of 1.52. Danaher Corporation has a 1-year low of $160.93 and a 1-year high of $242.80.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 20th. The conglomerate reported $2.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $5.95 billion for 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%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.88 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Danaher Corporation will post 8.43 EPS for the current year.

Danaher Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Investors of record on Friday, June 26th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 26th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Danaher's dividend payout ratio is presently 30.95%.

Insider Transactions at Danaher

In other Danaher news, EVP Gregory M. Milosevich sold 1,320 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 5,099 shares of the company's stock, 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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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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