Jennison Associates LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Danaher Corporation $DHR

Key Points

• Jennison Associates increased its stake in Danaher by 71.6% in Q4, adding 304,603 shares to hold 730,178 shares (about 0.10% of the company) valued at roughly $167.15 million.
• Danaher beat quarterly EPS estimates ($2.06 vs. $1.94) while revenue slightly missed ($5.95B vs. $6.0B) with revenue up 3.7% year-over-year, and the company raised its quarterly dividend from $0.32 to $0.40 (annualized $1.60, ~0.9% yield).
• Analysts maintain a consensus "Moderate Buy" (18 Buys, 3 Holds) with an average target price of $240.70, although some firms have recently trimmed their targets.

Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in shares of Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR - Free Report) by 71.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 730,178 shares of the conglomerate's stock after buying an additional 304,603 shares during the quarter. Jennison Associates LLC owned 0.10% of Danaher worth $167,152,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Tyche Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Danaher during the third quarter valued at approximately $462,000. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG raised its position in Danaher by 25.4% in the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 366,481 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $83,895,000 after acquiring an additional 74,301 shares during the period. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. raised its position in Danaher by 49.4% in the third quarter. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. now owns 25,340 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $5,024,000 after acquiring an additional 8,380 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. raised its position in Danaher by 2.9% in the third quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 664,705 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $131,784,000 after acquiring an additional 18,744 shares during the period. Finally, Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in Danaher by 4.6% in the third quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 513,288 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $100,071,000 after acquiring an additional 22,595 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.05% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on DHR shares. Argus decreased their price target on shares of Danaher from $265.00 to $230.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 24th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Danaher from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Leerink Partners increased their price target on shares of Danaher from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Danaher in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $245.00 price objective on shares of Danaher in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Danaher has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $240.70.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Gregory M. Milosevich sold 1,320 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 5,099 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,060,642.99. This trade represents a 20.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 10.80% of the company's stock.

Danaher Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DHR opened at $177.89 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $193.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $213.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.87 and a quick ratio of 1.52. The stock has a market cap of $125.91 billion, a PE ratio of 34.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.95. Danaher Corporation has a 1 year low of $175.00 and a 1 year high of $242.80.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 20th. The conglomerate reported $2.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $5.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6 billion. Danaher had a net margin of 14.89% and a return on equity of 10.91%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.88 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Danaher Corporation will post 8.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 24th. Investors of record on Friday, March 27th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 27th. This is a positive change from Danaher's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Danaher's dividend payout ratio is 30.95%.

About Danaher

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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