Mutual Advisors LLC Increases Holdings in Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR)

Mutual Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR - Free Report) by 49.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,409 shares of the conglomerate's stock after buying an additional 3,121 shares during the period. Mutual Advisors LLC's holdings in Danaher were worth $1,855,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Danaher by 396.0% in the first quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 124 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the period. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Danaher in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Danaher in the first quarter valued at about $31,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Danaher in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Danaher in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. 79.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on DHR. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Danaher from $231.00 to $225.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Leerink Partners upped their target price on Danaher from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wolfe Research dropped their target price on 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 Danaher from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Danaher from $280.00 to $260.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $248.00.

Insider Activity at Danaher

In other news, Chairman Steven M. Rales sold 1,250,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chairman owned 3,105,808 shares in the company, valued at $611,036,665.92. This trade represents a 28.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, 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 value of $3,129,390.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 15,179 shares in the company, 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. Company insiders own 11.20% of the company's stock.

Danaher Price Performance

DHR stock traded up $1.07 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $200.70. 4,225,555 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,502,202. The company has a market cap of $143.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.77. The stock's 50 day moving average is $195.74 and its 200 day moving average is $206.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 1.05. Danaher Corporation has a 12-month low of $171.00 and a 12-month high of $281.70.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.26. The company 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%. On average, research analysts expect that Danaher Corporation will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

Danaher Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 27th will be given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.64%. Danaher's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.85%.

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.