Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC Lowers Holdings in Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR)

Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR - Free Report) by 46.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,410 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 2,067 shares during the period. Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC's holdings in Danaher were worth $494,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in DHR. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Danaher in the fourth quarter worth $2,130,740,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Danaher by 24,958.2% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,870,847 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $383,524,000 after purchasing an additional 1,863,381 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Danaher in the fourth quarter worth $391,172,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its stake in Danaher by 4,248.8% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 1,639,500 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $376,347,000 after purchasing an additional 1,601,800 shares during the period. Finally, Capital World Investors grew its stake in Danaher by 32.7% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,361,183 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $1,460,215,000 after purchasing an additional 1,566,658 shares during the period. 79.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Danaher Stock Performance

DHR stock traded up $1.79 during trading on Friday, reaching $196.23. The stock had a trading volume of 6,548,950 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,490,035. Danaher Corporation has a 52 week low of $171.00 and a 52 week high of $281.70. The stock's 50 day moving average is $193.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $209.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The firm has a market cap of $140.43 billion, a PE ratio of 38.10, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.77.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.26. Danaher had a return on equity of 10.80% and a net margin of 15.81%. The company had revenue of $5.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.58 billion. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Danaher Corporation will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Danaher Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 27th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.65%. Danaher's dividend payout ratio is 24.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Danaher

In other news, EVP Christopher Paul Riley sold 15,805 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.00, for a total value of $3,129,390.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,179 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,005,442. This trade represents a 51.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $245,925,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 3,105,808 shares in the company, valued at $611,036,665.92. This trade represents a 28.70% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 11.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on DHR shares. UBS Group dropped their target price on Danaher from $275.00 to $240.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Danaher in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus raised Danaher from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $260.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, March 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Danaher from $260.00 to $240.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Argus dropped their target price on Danaher from $260.00 to $240.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Danaher presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $248.17.

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.