Factory Mutual Insurance Co. Sells 5,500 Shares of Danaher Corporation $DHR

Key Points

• Factory Mutual Insurance Co. sold 5,500 shares of Danaher, trimming its stake by 2.5% to 211,300 shares valued at about $48.37 million, while institutional investors own roughly 79.05% of the stock.
• Danaher modestly beat Q4 expectations with $2.23 EPS and $6.84 billion revenue, and analysts hold a consensus "Moderate Buy" rating with a $251.35 price target (18 Buys, 3 Holds).
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.40 (annualized $1.60, yield 0.8%), with an ex-dividend date of March 27 and payment on April 24.

Factory Mutual Insurance Co. cut its holdings in shares of Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR - Free Report) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 211,300 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 5,500 shares during the period. Factory Mutual Insurance Co.'s holdings in Danaher were worth $48,371,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Danaher by 51.0% during the fourth quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 14,780 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $3,383,000 after acquiring an additional 4,990 shares in the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in Danaher by 201.7% during the fourth quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 724 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $166,000 after acquiring an additional 484 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Danaher by 104.7% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,333,056 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $991,923,000 after acquiring an additional 2,216,789 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Danaher by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 74,220 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $16,990,000 after acquiring an additional 1,652 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Danaher by 57.6% during the fourth quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,475 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $567,000 after acquiring an additional 905 shares in the last quarter. 79.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Danaher from $265.00 to $240.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Danaher in a report on Friday, March 27th. Guggenheim boosted their price target on Danaher from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 2nd. Wolfe Research cut their price target on Danaher from $260.00 to $230.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $251.00 price target on Danaher in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Danaher currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $251.35.

Danaher Stock Performance

DHR opened at $189.69 on Friday. Danaher Corporation has a 52-week low of $178.78 and a 52-week high of $242.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $134.24 billion, a PE ratio of 37.64, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 1.87. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $201.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $214.31.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The conglomerate reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.14 by $0.09. Danaher had a return on equity of 10.81% and a net margin of 14.71%.The business had revenue of $6.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.79 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.14 earnings per share. Danaher's revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Danaher Corporation will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 27th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. This is a boost from Danaher's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 27th. Danaher's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.75%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Danaher news, EVP Gregory M. Milosevich sold 1,320 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.01, for a total transaction of $274,573.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 5,099 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,060,642.99. The trade was a 20.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 11.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Danaher Company Profile

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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