Bessemer Group Inc. Acquires 139,701 Shares of Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR)

Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR - Free Report) by 5.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,540,818 shares of the conglomerate's stock after acquiring an additional 139,701 shares during the quarter. Danaher makes up 0.9% of Bessemer Group Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Bessemer Group Inc. owned 0.36% of Danaher worth $520,867,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Aurora Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Danaher during the 1st quarter valued at about $2,567,000. Global Assets Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Danaher during the first quarter worth $312,000. Financial Enhancement Group LLC increased its holdings in Danaher by 5.8% in the 1st quarter. Financial Enhancement Group LLC now owns 11,012 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $2,115,000 after buying an additional 604 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Danaher by 39.5% in the 1st quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,191 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $449,000 after buying an additional 620 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Danaher by 8.1% during the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,274 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $261,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. 79.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on DHR shares. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Danaher in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Danaher from $240.00 to $230.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Danaher from $240.00 to $248.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Bank of America dropped their price target on Danaher from $265.00 to $230.00 in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, HSBC decreased their target price on Danaher from $270.00 to $240.00 in a report on Friday, April 25th. Five 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.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $248.61.

Insider Buying and Selling at Danaher

In related news, EVP Christopher Paul Riley sold 15,805 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.00, for a total value of $3,129,390.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,179 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,005,442. The trade was a 51.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Steven M. Rales sold 1,250,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The shares were 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 now directly owns 3,105,808 shares of the company's stock, 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. Insiders own 11.10% of the company's stock.

Danaher Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:DHR traded up $0.88 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $201.88. The company had a trading volume of 5,562,250 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,497,229. 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 $144.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.20, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.77. Danaher Corporation has a one year low of $171.00 and a one year high of $281.70. The company's 50-day moving average price is $194.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $209.00.

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

Danaher Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Investors of record on Friday, June 27th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.63%. Danaher's dividend payout ratio is 24.85%.

About Danaher

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.