Defender Capital LLC. Has $32.09 Million Stake in Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR)

Defender Capital LLC. lifted its stake in Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR - Free Report) by 13.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 156,543 shares of the conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 18,592 shares during the period. Danaher accounts for approximately 12.7% of Defender Capital LLC.'s holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Defender Capital LLC.'s holdings in Danaher were worth $32,091,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Danaher by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 59,750,122 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $13,715,641,000 after buying an additional 315,912 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Danaher by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,358,206 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $3,056,996,000 after acquiring an additional 315,446 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Danaher in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,130,740,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Danaher by 14.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,934,991 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $1,821,477,000 after acquiring an additional 992,594 shares during the period. Finally, Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in Danaher by 32.7% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,361,183 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $1,460,215,000 after purchasing an additional 1,566,658 shares in the last quarter. 79.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Danaher Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE DHR traded up $0.58 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $203.08. 1,390,744 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,499,704. The company's 50 day moving average price is $195.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $207.23. Danaher Corporation has a 12 month low of $171.00 and a 12 month high of $281.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $145.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $5.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.58 billion. Danaher had a net margin of 15.81% and a return on equity of 10.80%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Danaher Corporation will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Investors of record on Friday, June 27th will be given 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 (DPR) is currently 24.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on DHR shares. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Danaher from $275.00 to $240.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Danaher from $260.00 to $240.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Danaher from $240.00 to $230.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Danaher from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Danaher from $260.00 to $230.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Danaher currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $248.61.

Insider Activity

In other Danaher news, Chairman Steven M. Rales sold 1,250,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chairman owned 3,105,808 shares of the company's stock, valued at $611,036,665.92. This represents a 28.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher Paul Riley sold 15,805 shares of Danaher stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 15,179 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,005,442. This trade represents a 51.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 11.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.