351,251 Shares in Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) Purchased by Manning & Napier Advisors LLC

Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 351,251 shares of the conglomerate's stock, valued at approximately $72,006,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Danaher by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,983 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $914,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co raised its position in Danaher by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co now owns 8,287 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $1,902,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC raised its position in Danaher by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC now owns 1,099 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $252,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Danaher by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,343 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $538,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC raised its position in Danaher by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 1,739 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $399,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. 79.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on DHR shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded Danaher from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, June 9th. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Danaher in a report on Monday, April 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Danaher in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. UBS Group cut their price target on Danaher from $275.00 to $240.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Argus cut their price target on Danaher from $260.00 to $240.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Danaher presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $248.17.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Steven M. Rales sold 1,250,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The stock was 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 now owns 3,105,808 shares of the company's stock, valued at $611,036,665.92. The trade was a 28.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 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 value of $3,129,390.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,179 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,005,442. This trade represents a 51.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 11.20% of the company's stock.

Danaher Stock Performance

Danaher stock traded up $0.10 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $196.49. 3,826,474 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,478,914. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $193.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $209.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $140.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.77. Danaher Corporation has a 1 year low of $171.00 and a 1 year high of $281.70.

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

Danaher Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.65%. Danaher's payout ratio is presently 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.