NorthRock Partners LLC Sells 1,318 Shares of Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR)

Key Points

• NorthRock Partners LLC reduced its holdings in Danaher Corporation by 15.8%, selling 1,318 shares and ending with a total of 7,012 shares valued at approximately $1.44 million.
• Insider activity includes Chairman Steven M. Rales selling 1.25 million shares, reducing his position by 28.7% and leaving him with 3.1 million shares valued around $611 million.
• Analysts have a positive outlook on Danaher, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $247.61, despite varying reports lowering price targets.

NorthRock Partners LLC cut its holdings in shares of Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR - Free Report) by 15.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,012 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 1,318 shares during the period. NorthRock Partners LLC's holdings in Danaher were worth $1,440,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in DHR. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Danaher by 24,958.2% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,870,847 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $383,524,000 after purchasing an additional 1,863,381 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its holdings in Danaher by 4,248.8% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 1,639,500 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $376,347,000 after buying an additional 1,601,800 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in Danaher by 32.7% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,361,183 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $1,460,215,000 after acquiring an additional 1,566,658 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its position in shares of Danaher by 460.6% during the 4th quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,348,544 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $309,558,000 after acquiring an additional 1,107,998 shares during the period. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in shares of Danaher in the 4th quarter worth approximately $242,837,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.05% of the company's stock.

Danaher Price Performance

Shares of DHR traded down $0.08 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $197.08. The stock had a trading volume of 5,736,543 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,375,955. The company has a market capitalization of $141.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Danaher Corporation has a 12-month low of $171.00 and a 12-month high of $279.90. The company's 50-day moving average is $197.49 and its 200 day moving average is $202.68.

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

Danaher Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 27th were given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Danaher's payout ratio is 27.23%.

Insider Transactions at Danaher

In other news, Chairman Steven M. Rales sold 1,250,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chairman owned 3,105,808 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $611,036,665.92. The trade was a 28.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 11.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on DHR. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $225.00 target price (up from $215.00) on shares of Danaher in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Danaher in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Danaher in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Danaher from $260.00 to $240.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Wolfe Research dropped their target price on Danaher from $275.00 to $220.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $247.61.

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.