Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) Stock Position Trimmed by NORTHSTAR ASSET MANAGEMENT Co LLC

NORTHSTAR ASSET MANAGEMENT Co LLC decreased its stake in shares of Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR - Free Report) by 14.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 33,185 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 5,810 shares during the period. Danaher accounts for 1.6% of NORTHSTAR ASSET MANAGEMENT Co LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. NORTHSTAR ASSET MANAGEMENT Co LLC's holdings in Danaher were worth $6,803,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of DHR. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake 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 during the period. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Danaher in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Danaher in the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Danaher in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Danaher in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.05% of the company's stock.

Danaher Stock Down 1.8%

NYSE DHR traded down $3.60 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $199.60. 2,388,352 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,495,257. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Danaher Corporation has a 12 month low of $171.00 and a 12 month high of $281.70. The company has a 50 day moving average of $195.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $207.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $142.85 billion, a PE ratio of 38.76, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.77.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.26. Danaher had a return on equity of 10.80% and a net margin of 15.81%. The company had revenue of $5.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.58 billion. As a group, equities analysts expect that Danaher Corporation will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Danaher Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.64%. Danaher's payout ratio is currently 24.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on DHR. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Danaher from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $260.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, March 14th. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $225.00 price objective (up from $215.00) on shares of Danaher in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. HSBC lowered their price target on Danaher from $270.00 to $240.00 in a research report on Friday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Danaher from $280.00 to $260.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Danaher from $240.00 to $210.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Danaher has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $248.61.

Insider Transactions at Danaher

In related 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 sale, the chairman owned 3,105,808 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $611,036,665.92. This trade represents a 28.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher Paul Riley sold 15,805 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president directly 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.

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.