Danaher Corporation $DHR Stock Acquired by Salem Investment Counselors Inc.

Key Points

• Salem Investment Counselors significantly increased its Danaher stake by 1,462.8% in the third quarter, bringing its holdings to 8,939 shares valued at approximately $1.98 million. Institutional investors collectively own 79.05% of the company.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish on DHR: the stock has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $235.41, with several firms assigning price targets between $230 and $250.
• Danaher recently beat quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, while its collaboration with NVIDIA and planned AI-powered autonomous laboratory could provide longer-term growth opportunities in life-science tools and laboratory automation.

Salem Investment Counselors Inc. increased its position in Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR - Free Report) by 1,462.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,939 shares of the conglomerate's stock after acquiring an additional 8,367 shares during the period. Salem Investment Counselors Inc.'s holdings in Danaher were worth $1,980,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. EP Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Danaher in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $3,807,000. Puzo Michael J bought a new stake in Danaher during the 2nd quarter valued at $8,624,000. First Nebraska Trust Co acquired a new position in Danaher during the 2nd quarter worth $14,106,000. Madison Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Danaher during the 2nd quarter worth $85,451,000. Finally, Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Danaher during the 3rd quarter worth $592,000. 79.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on DHR. Evercore reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $230.00 price target on shares of Danaher in a research note on Monday, July 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Danaher from $210.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, September 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $240.00 price objective on shares of Danaher in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Danaher in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $250.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Danaher from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $235.41.

Key Danaher News

Here are the key news stories impacting Danaher this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AI partnership with NVIDIA: Danaher announced a collaboration to combine its scientific instruments, laboratory automation, workflow software and industry expertise with NVIDIA’s accelerated computing and AI technologies. The initiative is intended to advance autonomous science and speed scientific discovery, supporting Danaher’s long-term growth outlook in life-science tools and laboratory automation. Danaher Collaborates with NVIDIA to Advance Autonomous Science
• Positive Sentiment: Potential earnings beat: Zacks reports that Danaher has a strong history of exceeding quarterly estimates and currently has favorable Earnings ESP and consensus-estimate trends, raising expectations for another beat in its upcoming report. The company previously exceeded estimates with quarterly earnings of $1.94 per share versus a $1.85 consensus, while revenue rose 5.5% year over year. Will Danaher Beat Estimates Again in Its Next Earnings Report?
• Positive Sentiment: Longer-term automation opportunity: Danaher’s planned AI-powered autonomous laboratory, targeted for commercial-scale operation in early 2027, gives investors a potential future growth catalyst. The NVIDIA relationship could strengthen Danaher’s position as laboratories adopt AI and physical automation. How to Invest in AI Drug Discovery
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst support: Morgan Stanley maintained a $240 price target, implying continued confidence in Danaher’s prospects, although the unchanged target provides no new upgrade catalyst. Morgan Stanley Keeps $240 Target for Danaher Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Board changes: Danaher expanded its board to 13 members and appointed new directors, a governance development with limited immediate earnings or valuation impact. Danaher Enhances Board With New Director Appointments

Danaher Price Performance

NYSE DHR opened at $224.65 on Thursday. Danaher Corporation has a 12 month low of $160.93 and a 12 month high of $242.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $157.93 billion, a PE ratio of 39.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.76. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $212.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $195.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.65 and a quick ratio of 1.25.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 20th. The conglomerate reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.09. Danaher had a return on equity of 11.04% and a net margin of 15.95%. The business had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.77 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Danaher Corporation will post 8.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Danaher's payout ratio is currently 28.42%.

Danaher Profile

Danaher Corporation NYSE: DHR is a global science and technology company that develops and manufactures products, services and solutions for the life sciences, diagnostics and biotechnology industries. Its offerings help researchers, healthcare professionals and biopharmaceutical manufacturers discover, develop, produce and analyze medicines and other biological products.

The company operates through businesses that provide laboratory instruments, consumables, software and services, including technologies for cell analysis, genomics, protein research, bioprocessing and clinical diagnostics.

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