Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Cuts Holdings in Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lowered its position in Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR - Free Report) by 35.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,378,577 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 1,300,579 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned 0.33% of Danaher worth $487,608,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Danaher by 1.3% in 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 during the last quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co boosted its position in Danaher by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co now owns 8,287 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $1,902,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Danaher by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC now owns 1,099 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $252,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Danaher by 2.2% in 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 during the period. Finally, MGO One Seven LLC boosted its position in shares of Danaher by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 4,285 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $984,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. 79.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Danaher

In related news, EVP Christopher Paul Riley sold 15,805 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 15,179 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,005,442. This trade represents a 51.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Steven M. Rales sold 1,250,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.74, for a total transaction of $245,925,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 3,105,808 shares of the company's stock, valued at $611,036,665.92. The trade was a 28.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 11.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on DHR shares. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Danaher from $260.00 to $240.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of Danaher in a report on Monday, April 7th. Wolfe Research dropped their price objective on shares of Danaher from $275.00 to $220.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Danaher from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Danaher in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $248.43.

Danaher Price Performance

NYSE:DHR traded down $5.01 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $192.74. 4,521,829 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,520,411. Danaher Corporation has a 12-month low of $171.00 and a 12-month high of $281.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The company has a market cap of $137.94 billion, a PE ratio of 37.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.77. The business's 50-day moving average price is $196.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $205.89.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.58 billion. On average, analysts expect that Danaher Corporation will post 7.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 0.66%. Danaher's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.