Equitable Holdings Inc. Acquires New Position in Danaher Corporation $DHR

Key Points

• Equitable Holdings acquired 15,830 Danaher shares during the second quarter, worth approximately $3.015 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 79.05% of DHR.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive view, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $228.91, although several firms recently reduced their targets or ratings.
• Danaher exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $1.94 in adjusted EPS versus $1.85 expected and $6.26 billion in revenue versus $6.12 billion forecast; revenue increased 5.5% year over year.

Equitable Holdings Inc. bought a new position in shares of Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 15,830 shares of the conglomerate's stock, valued at approximately $3,015,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of DHR. Centaurus Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Danaher during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,641,000. Brasada Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Danaher in the second quarter worth approximately $1,629,000. FSA Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Danaher during the second quarter worth $269,000. N10 Assets LLC acquired a new stake in Danaher during the second quarter worth $7,208,000. Finally, Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Danaher in the second quarter valued at $490,000. 79.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on DHR shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Danaher from $212.00 to $195.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Danaher from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. DZ Bank assumed coverage on shares of Danaher in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. They set a "buy" rating and a $210.00 price target for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "buy" rating and issued a $240.00 price objective on shares of Danaher in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Guggenheim lowered their price objective on shares of Danaher from $235.00 to $200.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $228.91.

Danaher Price Performance

DHR opened at $215.74 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $151.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.32, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $198.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $192.35. Danaher Corporation has a 12-month low of $160.93 and a 12-month high of $242.80.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 20th. The conglomerate reported $1.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.12 billion. Danaher had a net margin of 15.95% and a return on equity of 11.04%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.77 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Danaher Corporation will post 8.53 earnings per share for the current year.

About Danaher

Danaher Corporation NYSE: DHR is a global science and technology company that designs, manufactures and markets products and services for the life sciences, diagnostics, and environmental and applied markets. The company organizes its operations into business segments focused on Life Sciences, Diagnostics, and Environmental & Applied Solutions, supplying instruments, reagents, software and related services that support research, clinical testing, biopharmaceutical development, and industrial and environmental monitoring.

Products and services in Danaher's portfolio include analytical and diagnostic instruments, laboratory consumables and reagents, digital and software solutions for workflow and data management, field and industrial monitoring equipment, and service and maintenance programs.

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