Oak Thistle LLC Buys Shares of 14,168 Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR)

Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new stake in Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 14,168 shares of the conglomerate's stock, valued at approximately $2,904,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Danaher during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Danaher by 396.0% in the first quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 124 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC lifted its holdings in Danaher by 116.9% during the first quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC now owns 141 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the period. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Danaher during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Danaher during the first quarter worth $31,000. 79.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Danaher Stock Up 1.4%

NYSE:DHR traded up $2.79 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $205.60. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,355,676 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,965,185. The stock has a market capitalization of $147.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.77. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $196.38 and a 200-day moving average of $203.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Danaher Corporation has a 52-week low of $171.00 and a 52-week high of $281.70.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $5.94 billion for 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%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.72 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Danaher Corporation will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Danaher Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 27th were paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.62%. Danaher's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DHR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of Danaher in a research note on Monday, April 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Danaher from $260.00 to $240.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Leerink Partners raised their target price on Danaher from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Argus dropped their target price on Danaher from $260.00 to $240.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on Danaher from $240.00 to $235.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $247.61.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Steven M. Rales sold 1,250,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.74, for a total transaction of $245,925,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 3,105,808 shares in the company, valued at approximately $611,036,665.92. This represents a 28.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $3,129,390.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 15,179 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,005,442. This trade represents a 51.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 11.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.