Merit Financial Group LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

Merit Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR - Free Report) by 44.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,555 shares of the conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 4,505 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in Danaher were worth $2,984,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DHR. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Danaher during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Danaher during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in Danaher in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Danaher by 63.3% in the fourth quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC now owns 147 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new position in Danaher in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. 79.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Danaher Price Performance

Shares of Danaher stock traded up $3.98 on Friday, reaching $196.13. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,802,212 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,477,558. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The company has a market capitalization of $140.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.15, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.80. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $191.42 and a 200-day moving average price of $212.58. Danaher Co. has a 52-week low of $171.00 and a 52-week high of $281.70.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.26. Danaher had a net margin of 16.33% and a return on equity of 10.82%. The business had revenue of $5.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.58 billion. Analysts expect that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

Danaher Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 27th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.65%. Danaher's payout ratio is currently 24.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,179 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,005,442. The trade was a 51.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Steven M. Rales sold 1,250,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $196.74, for a total transaction of $245,925,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 11.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on DHR. Stifel Nicolaus raised Danaher from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $260.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Danaher in a research report on Monday, April 7th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Danaher from $275.00 to $240.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Danaher from $260.00 to $240.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Danaher from $231.00 to $225.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $263.24.

About Danaher

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.