Davis R M Inc. Sells 3,277 Shares of Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR)

Key Points

• Davis R M Inc. reduced its stake in Danaher Corporation by 1.0%, owning 324,239 shares valued at approximately $66.5 million.
• Notably, Steven M. Rales, the chairman, sold 1.25 million shares for $245.9 million, a 28.70% decrease in his ownership.
• Despite recent fluctuations, Danaher stock remains a focus for institutional investors, with 79.05% of the stock owned by them, and multiple analysts rating it as a "Moderate Buy".

Davis R M Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR - Free Report) by 1.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 324,239 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 3,277 shares during the period. Danaher accounts for 1.3% of Davis R M Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Davis R M Inc.'s holdings in Danaher were worth $66,469,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG boosted its holdings in Danaher by 22.8% in the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 192,731 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $44,241,000 after purchasing an additional 35,730 shares during the last quarter. Weitz Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Danaher by 14.9% in the fourth quarter. Weitz Investment Management Inc. now owns 403,210 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $92,557,000 after purchasing an additional 52,300 shares during the last quarter. RFG Bristol Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Danaher in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,143,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Danaher by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,679,156 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $844,550,000 after purchasing an additional 96,174 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bryce Point Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Danaher during the 4th quarter valued at $491,000. Institutional investors own 79.05% of the company's stock.

Danaher Trading Down 0.0%

Danaher stock traded down $0.08 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $197.08. The company had a trading volume of 5,736,543 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,375,955. The firm has a market cap of $141.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.62. Danaher Corporation has a 1 year low of $171.00 and a 1 year high of $279.90. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $197.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $202.68.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 period in the previous year, the company earned $1.72 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Danaher Corporation will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Danaher Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 27th were given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Danaher's payout ratio is presently 27.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on DHR shares. Leerink Partners boosted their price objective on shares of Danaher from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Danaher from $260.00 to $230.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Danaher from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and set a $275.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 11th. HSBC decreased their price objective on shares of Danaher from $270.00 to $240.00 in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Danaher in a report on Monday, April 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $247.61.

Insider Buying and Selling at Danaher

In other news, Chairman Steven M. Rales sold 1,250,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.74, for a total value of $245,925,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 3,105,808 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $611,036,665.92. This represents a 28.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 11.10% of the company's stock.

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.