Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) Shares Sold by Renaissance Investment Group LLC

Key Points

• Renaissance Investment Group LLC reduced its stake in Danaher Corporation by 21.9% in the 1st quarter, now holding approximately $8,074,000 worth of shares.
• Chairman Steven M. Rales sold 1,250,000 shares of Danaher, a 28.70% reduction in his ownership, while EVP Christopher Paul Riley also significantly decreased his shares by 51.01%.
• Danaher announced a quarterly dividend of $0.32 per share, translating to an annualized payout of $1.28 and a yield of 0.63%.

Renaissance Investment Group LLC reduced its holdings in Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR - Free Report) by 21.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 39,388 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 11,066 shares during the quarter. Danaher makes up 2.0% of Renaissance Investment Group LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Renaissance Investment Group LLC's holdings in Danaher were worth $8,074,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Danaher by 396.0% in the first quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 124 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Danaher during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Sierra Ocean LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Danaher by 116.9% in the first quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC now owns 141 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the period. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Danaher during the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new position in Danaher during the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. 79.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on DHR. Bank of America cut their target price on Danaher from $265.00 to $230.00 in a report on Monday, April 14th. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Danaher from $240.00 to $248.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on Danaher from $240.00 to $235.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Danaher from $260.00 to $230.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Danaher from $280.00 to $260.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $247.61.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Steven M. Rales sold 1,250,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $196.74, for a total transaction of $245,925,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 3,105,808 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $611,036,665.92. This trade represents a 28.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher Paul Riley sold 15,805 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.00, for a total transaction of $3,129,390.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 15,179 shares in the company, valued at $3,005,442. The trade was a 51.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 11.20% of the company's stock.

Danaher Stock Performance

Shares of Danaher stock traded up $3.89 on Tuesday, reaching $206.83. 4,973,284 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,983,126. Danaher Corporation has a twelve month low of $171.00 and a twelve month high of $281.70. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $196.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $203.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $148.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.01, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.77.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.64 by $0.16. Danaher had a net margin of 14.21% and a return on equity of 10.70%. The company had revenue of $5.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.83 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.72 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Danaher Corporation will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 25th. Investors of record on Friday, June 27th were paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.62%. Danaher's dividend payout ratio is presently 27.23%.

Danaher Profile

Danaher Corporation designs, manufactures, and markets professional, medical, industrial, and commercial products and services worldwide. The Biotechnology segments offers bioprocess technologies, consumables, and services that advance, accelerate, and integrate the development and manufacture of therapeutics; cell line and cell culture media development services; cell culture media, process liquids and buffers for manufacturing, chromatography resins, filtration technologies, aseptic fill finish; single-use hardware and consumables and services, such as the design and installation of full manufacturing suites; lab filtration, separation, and purification; lab-scale protein purification and analytical tools; reagents, membranes, and services; and healthcare filtration solutions.