Lbp Am Sa Purchases 46,347 Shares of Danaher Corporation $DHR

Key Points

• Lbp Am Sa increased its stake in Danaher by 422.8% in Q4, buying 46,347 shares to hold 57,309 shares worth about $13.12 million.
• Wall Street is broadly positive with 18 Buy and 3 Hold ratings, a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $247.35, though individual targets range roughly $230–$275.
• Danaher beat quarterly estimates (EPS $2.23 vs. $2.14; revenue $6.84B vs. $6.79B) and raised its quarterly dividend from $0.32 to $0.40 ($1.60 annualized, ~0.8% yield).

Lbp Am Sa grew its position in Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR - Free Report) by 422.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 57,309 shares of the conglomerate's stock after buying an additional 46,347 shares during the quarter. Lbp Am Sa's holdings in Danaher were worth $13,119,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Tyche Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Danaher in the third quarter valued at about $462,000. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG raised its stake in Danaher by 25.4% during 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 in the last quarter. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 last quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Danaher by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 664,705 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $131,784,000 after purchasing an additional 18,744 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Danaher by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 513,288 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $100,071,000 after purchasing an additional 22,595 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.05% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on DHR. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Danaher from $270.00 to $245.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Argus set a $265.00 target price on shares of Danaher in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Robert W. Baird set a $251.00 target price on shares of Danaher in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Danaher from $265.00 to $230.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Danaher from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $247.35.

Danaher Stock Down 2.4%

Shares of NYSE DHR opened at $193.38 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $199.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $214.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.87 and a quick ratio of 1.51. Danaher Corporation has a 1 year low of $180.03 and a 1 year high of $242.80. The firm has a market cap of $136.85 billion, a PE 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 posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The conglomerate reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.79 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.14 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Danaher Corporation will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 24th. Investors of record on Friday, March 27th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This is a positive change from Danaher's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 27th. Danaher's payout ratio is presently 31.75%.

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 stock was 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 $1,060,642.99. This trade represents a 20.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 10.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Danaher 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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