Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) Shares Purchased by Forum Financial Management LP

Forum Financial Management LP raised its position in shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR - Free Report) by 38.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,202 shares of the conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 2,282 shares during the quarter. Forum Financial Management LP's holdings in Danaher were worth $1,883,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in DHR. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Danaher during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Danaher during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Danaher in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Danaher by 63.3% in the 4th quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC now owns 147 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the period. Finally, Kentucky Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Danaher in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.05% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman Steven M. Rales sold 1,250,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.74, for a total transaction of $245,925,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher Paul Riley sold 15,805 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.00, for a total transaction of $3,129,390.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,179 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,005,442. This represents a 51.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 11.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Danaher from $275.00 to $240.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Danaher from $260.00 to $230.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Danaher from $280.00 to $240.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Danaher from $280.00 to $260.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Danaher from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $263.24.

Danaher Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DHR traded up $1.05 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $190.06. 1,215,619 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,329,620. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $193.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $214.49. Danaher Co. has a 1 year low of $171.00 and a 1 year high of $281.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The stock has a market cap of $136.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.00, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.80.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $5.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.58 billion. Danaher had a net margin of 16.33% and a return on equity of 10.82%. On average, research analysts forecast that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Investors of record on Friday, June 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.67%. Danaher's payout ratio is 24.85%.

Danaher Profile

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.