Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. Boosts Stake in Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR)

Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. lifted its position in Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR - Free Report) by 575.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,728 shares of the conglomerate's stock after acquiring an additional 1,472 shares during the period. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd.'s holdings in Danaher were worth $355,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Danaher in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,130,740,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Danaher by 24,958.2% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,870,847 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $383,524,000 after buying an additional 1,863,381 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its stake in shares of Danaher by 4,248.8% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 1,639,500 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $376,347,000 after acquiring an additional 1,601,800 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in shares of Danaher by 32.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,361,183 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $1,460,215,000 after acquiring an additional 1,566,658 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of Danaher by 460.6% during the 4th quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,348,544 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $309,558,000 after acquiring an additional 1,107,998 shares during the last quarter. 79.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Danaher Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of Danaher stock traded up $0.58 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $203.08. 1,390,744 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,501,434. The firm has a market cap of $145.33 billion, a PE ratio of 39.43, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.43. Danaher Corporation has a 1 year low of $171.00 and a 1 year high of $281.70. The stock's fifty day moving average is $195.63 and its 200 day moving average is $207.38.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.26. Danaher had a return on equity of 10.80% and a net margin of 15.81%. The company had revenue of $5.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.58 billion. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Danaher Corporation will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Danaher Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Investors of record on Friday, June 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.63%. Danaher's payout ratio is currently 24.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Danaher

In other Danaher news, EVP Christopher Paul Riley sold 15,805 shares of Danaher stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.00, for a total transaction of $3,129,390.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 15,179 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,005,442. The trade was a 51.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman Steven M. Rales sold 1,250,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.74, for a total value of $245,925,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 3,105,808 shares in the company, valued at approximately $611,036,665.92. The trade was a 28.70% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 11.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $225.00 target price (up from $215.00) on shares of Danaher in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Danaher from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $260.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, March 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on Danaher from $240.00 to $235.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Danaher from $231.00 to $225.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered their price target on Danaher from $275.00 to $220.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $248.61.

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.