Danaher Corporation $DHR Stock Position Cut by Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc.

Key Points

• Montrusco Bolton Investments cut its Danaher position by 14.3%, selling 152,432 shares and retaining 912,150 shares valued at approximately $202.1 million. Institutional investors collectively own 79.05% of Danaher.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with Danaher receiving a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $235.41; several firms recently raised their targets to as high as $255.
• Danaher shares recently traded at $223.30, while the company reported quarterly earnings and revenue above expectations. It also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share, equivalent to a 0.7% annual yield.

Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. decreased its position in Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR - Free Report) by 14.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 912,150 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 152,432 shares during the period. Danaher makes up approximately 3.3% of Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. owned 0.13% of Danaher worth $202,087,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Danaher in the second quarter worth about $10,492,520,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Danaher by 10.4% during the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 16,316,834 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $3,108,031,000 after buying an additional 1,542,310 shares during the last quarter. Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Danaher during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,456,317,000. Generation Investment Management LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Danaher during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,287,949,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of Danaher during the second quarter valued at approximately $993,846,000. 79.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on DHR shares. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Danaher from $230.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Danaher from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Danaher from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Danaher from $260.00 to $220.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Danaher from $210.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, September 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $235.41.

Danaher Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DHR traded up $2.10 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $223.30. 6,007,508 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,462,041. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $211.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $194.88. Danaher Corporation has a 52-week low of $160.93 and a 52-week high of $242.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $156.98 billion, a PE ratio of 39.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.12 billion. Danaher had a net margin of 15.95% and a return on equity of 11.04%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.77 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Danaher Corporation will post 8.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Danaher Announces Dividend

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

Danaher Company 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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