NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC Takes Position in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC acquired a new stake in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 1,279 shares of the conglomerate's stock, valued at approximately $262,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Danaher in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Danaher in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Danaher during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of Danaher by 380.0% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 168 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 133 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Danaher in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.05% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Christopher Paul Riley sold 15,805 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was 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 now owns 15,179 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,005,442. This represents a 51.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Steven M. Rales sold 1,250,000 shares of Danaher 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 sale, the chairman now owns 3,105,808 shares in the company, valued at $611,036,665.92. This represents a 28.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 11.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Danaher Trading Up 0.2%

DHR traded up $0.47 on Monday, reaching $201.14. 3,057,694 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,489,072. Danaher Co. has a twelve month low of $171.00 and a twelve month high of $281.70. The company's 50 day moving average is $192.80 and its 200-day moving average is $210.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.40. The company has a market cap of $143.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.09, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.77.

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

Danaher Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Danaher from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, June 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Danaher from $280.00 to $260.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Danaher in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Danaher from $240.00 to $248.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered their target price on shares of Danaher from $275.00 to $220.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Danaher has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $248.17.

Danaher Company 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.