Danaher Corporation $DHR Shares Sold by Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co.

Key Points

• Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. cut its Danaher stake by 31.6% in the third quarter, selling 11,470 shares and retaining 24,840 shares valued at about $5.5 million.
• Analyst sentiment was broadly positive: 18 analysts rated Danaher a Buy and five a Hold, giving it a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $242.91.
• Danaher reported quarterly EPS of $2.11, beating the $1.92 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 8.3% year over year to $6.55 billion.

Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. reduced its stake in shares of Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR - Free Report) by 31.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 24,840 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 11,470 shares during the quarter. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co.'s holdings in Danaher were worth $5,503,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Danaher by 0.5% during the third quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,203 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $2,039,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Essential Investment Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Danaher by 34.6% in the 3rd quarter. Essential Investment Partners LLC now owns 175 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Montis Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Danaher by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Montis Financial LLC now owns 2,020 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $448,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Danaher by 28.3% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 213 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Veery Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Danaher by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Veery Capital LLC now owns 1,581 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $350,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.05% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on DHR. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Danaher from $220.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Danaher from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Danaher from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, October 26th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Danaher from $212.00 to $195.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Danaher from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $242.91.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Christopher Bouda sold 7,598 shares of Danaher stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.56, for a total value of $1,782,186.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 9,107 shares in the company, valued at $2,136,137.92. This trade represents a 45.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 10.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Danaher Trading Up 2.2%

Danaher stock opened at $235.21 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $220.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $201.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.63. Danaher Corporation has a one year low of $160.93 and a one year high of $242.80. The stock has a market cap of $165.48 billion, a PE ratio of 38.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.76.

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

Danaher Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 30th were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 30th. Danaher's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.19%.

About Danaher

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.