Fisher Funds Management LTD Has $91.23 Million Stock Position in Danaher Corporation $DHR

Key Points

• Fisher Funds Management LTD cut its Danaher stake by 26.0% in Q4, selling 139,548 shares and retaining 397,715 shares worth about $91.23 million, making DHR its 8th largest holding (≈2.4% of the fund).
• Danaher beat Q4 estimates with $2.23 EPS vs. $2.14 expected and $6.84B in revenue, and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.40 ($1.60 annualized; ex-dividend March 27).
• Several large institutions (Viking Global, MFS, Generation, Ameriprise, Arrowstreet) substantially increased positions—institutional ownership is 79.05%—and analysts on average rate the stock a "Moderate Buy" with a $247.35 target despite recent price-target cuts.

Fisher Funds Management LTD lessened its position in shares of Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR - Free Report) by 26.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 397,715 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 139,548 shares during the period. Danaher makes up about 2.4% of Fisher Funds Management LTD's portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Fisher Funds Management LTD owned approximately 0.06% of Danaher worth $91,228,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in DHR. Viking Global Investors LP lifted its stake in Danaher by 543.9% in the 2nd quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 2,907,515 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $574,351,000 after purchasing an additional 2,455,994 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in Danaher by 104.7% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,333,056 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $991,923,000 after purchasing an additional 2,216,789 shares during the last quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP lifted its stake in Danaher by 34.0% in the 3rd quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP now owns 6,654,666 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $1,319,354,000 after purchasing an additional 1,689,020 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Danaher by 211.7% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,088,089 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $414,038,000 after purchasing an additional 1,418,243 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in Danaher by 33.9% in the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,519,013 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $697,680,000 after purchasing an additional 891,210 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.05% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Danaher

In other news, EVP Gregory M. Milosevich sold 1,320 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.01, for a total transaction of $274,573.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 5,099 shares in the company, valued at $1,060,642.99. This represents a 20.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 10.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Danaher Trading Down 2.4%

Shares of NYSE DHR opened at $193.38 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 1.87. Danaher Corporation has a 52-week low of $180.03 and a 52-week high of $242.80. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $199.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $214.62. The stock has a market cap of $136.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.95.

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

Danaher Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 27th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. This is a boost from Danaher's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 27th. Danaher's dividend payout ratio is currently 31.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Wolfe Research dropped their price objective on shares of Danaher from $260.00 to $230.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Danaher from $270.00 to $245.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Danaher from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Danaher from $265.00 to $230.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Finally, Guggenheim upped their price target on shares of Danaher from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 2nd. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $247.35.

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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