Norris Perne & French LLP MI Boosts Stake in Danaher Corporation $DHR

Key Points

• Norris Perne & French LLP MI raised its stake in Danaher by 12.4% in Q4 to 85,484 shares, worth $19.57 million and representing 1.3% of the firm's portfolio (its 29th largest holding).
• Wall Street maintains a Moderate Buy consensus on Danaher with an average price target of $249.60 after mixed target moves; the company beat Q4 estimates with $2.23 EPS (vs. $2.14) and revenue of $6.84 billion, up 4.6% year-over-year.
• Danaher boosted its quarterly dividend from $0.32 to $0.40 (annualized $1.60, ~0.8% yield), while insiders — including an EVP who sold 1,320 shares — now own about 11.1% of the stock.

Norris Perne & French LLP MI grew its stake in shares of Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR - Free Report) by 12.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 85,484 shares of the conglomerate's stock after buying an additional 9,428 shares during the quarter. Danaher accounts for 1.3% of Norris Perne & French LLP MI's investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Norris Perne & French LLP MI's holdings in Danaher were worth $19,569,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Enterprise Financial Services Corp raised its position in Danaher by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Enterprise Financial Services Corp now owns 3,219 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $737,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Kennebec Savings Bank raised its position in Danaher by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank now owns 3,348 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $766,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in Danaher by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,870 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $428,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC raised its position in Danaher by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 15,421 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $3,057,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Finally, Norway Savings Bank raised its position in Danaher by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Norway Savings Bank now owns 7,063 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $1,617,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.05% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on DHR shares. Guggenheim lifted their target price on shares of Danaher from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Danaher in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of Danaher from $265.00 to $230.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Wolfe Research decreased their target price on shares of Danaher from $260.00 to $230.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Danaher from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $249.60.

Danaher Price Performance

Shares of Danaher stock opened at $195.94 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $138.66 billion, a PE ratio of 38.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.95. Danaher Corporation has a 12-month low of $180.03 and a 12-month high of $242.80. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $200.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $214.79.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The conglomerate reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.14 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $6.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.79 billion. Danaher had a net margin of 14.71% and a return on equity of 10.81%. The company's revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.14 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Danaher Corporation will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 27th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This is a boost from Danaher's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 27th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Danaher's payout ratio is 31.75%.

Insider Transactions at Danaher

In other Danaher news, EVP Gregory M. Milosevich sold 1,320 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.01, for a total value of $274,573.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 5,099 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,060,642.99. This trade represents a 20.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 11.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Danaher Profile

Danaher Corporation NYSE: DHR is a global science and technology company that designs, manufactures and markets products and services for the life sciences, diagnostics, and environmental and applied markets. The company organizes its operations into business segments focused on Life Sciences, Diagnostics, and Environmental & Applied Solutions, supplying instruments, reagents, software and related services that support research, clinical testing, biopharmaceutical development, and industrial and environmental monitoring.

Products and services in Danaher's portfolio include analytical and diagnostic instruments, laboratory consumables and reagents, digital and software solutions for workflow and data management, field and industrial monitoring equipment, and service and maintenance programs.

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