Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Boosts Holdings in Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR)

Key Points

• Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management increased its holdings in Danaher Corporation by 11.9% in Q1, now owning approximately 1.15 million shares worth $234.87 million.
• Danaher reported a quarterly EPS of $1.80, surpassing analysts' expectations of $1.64, and a year-over-year revenue increase of 3.4%.
• Recent analyst ratings show a consensus of 18 buy ratings and 3 hold ratings for Danaher, along with a revised price target averaging around $247.61.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR - Free Report) by 11.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,145,711 shares of the conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 122,015 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned approximately 0.16% of Danaher worth $234,871,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Danaher by 396.0% in the 1st quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 124 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Danaher in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Sierra Ocean LLC increased its holdings in Danaher by 116.9% in the 1st quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC now owns 141 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Danaher in the 1st quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC increased its holdings in Danaher by 68.4% in the 1st quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 165 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. 79.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Danaher Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of DHR traded up $2.21 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $200.70. The stock had a trading volume of 2,963,091 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,823,699. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.22. Danaher Corporation has a 52-week low of $171.00 and a 52-week high of $279.90. The business's fifty day moving average is $198.46 and its 200 day moving average is $201.23. The firm has a market cap of $143.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.73.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.64 by $0.16. Danaher had a net margin of 14.21% and a return on equity of 10.70%. The firm had revenue of $5.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.83 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.72 earnings per share. Danaher's quarterly revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Danaher Corporation will post 7.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on DHR. Leerink Partners boosted their price target on shares of Danaher from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Danaher from $260.00 to $240.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Danaher from $265.00 to $230.00 in a report on Monday, April 14th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Danaher from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Danaher from $230.00 to $226.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Danaher currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $247.61.

Insider Activity

In other Danaher news, Chairman Steven M. Rales sold 1,250,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 3,105,808 shares of the company's stock, valued at $611,036,665.92. This trade represents a 28.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 11.10% of the company's stock.

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.