Impax Asset Management Group plc Sells 545,376 Shares of Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR)

Impax Asset Management Group plc trimmed its position in Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR - Free Report) by 58.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 380,174 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 545,376 shares during the quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc owned approximately 0.05% of Danaher worth $77,312,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Danaher by 396.0% in the 1st quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 124 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Danaher in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Danaher in the first quarter worth $31,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Danaher during the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new position in Danaher during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. 79.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Danaher Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of DHR opened at $203.08 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $195.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $207.38. Danaher Corporation has a twelve month low of $171.00 and a twelve month high of $281.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $145.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.43, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

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

Danaher Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.63%. Danaher's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Chairman Steven M. Rales sold 1,250,000 shares of the firm's 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 sale, the chairman directly owned 3,105,808 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $611,036,665.92. This trade represents a 28.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Christopher Paul Riley sold 15,805 shares of Danaher 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 directly owned 15,179 shares in the company, valued at $3,005,442. The trade was a 51.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 11.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DHR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. HSBC dropped their price target on Danaher from $270.00 to $240.00 in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Wolfe Research lowered their target price on shares of Danaher from $275.00 to $220.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Danaher from $240.00 to $248.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Danaher from $231.00 to $225.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Danaher in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently 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.

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