Private Capital Advisors Inc. Trims Stock Position in Danaher Corporation $DHR

Key Points

• Private Capital Advisors Inc. reduced its Danaher position by 10.8% in the fourth quarter, selling 5,824 shares and leaving it with 47,863 shares worth about $10.96 million.
• Several large institutional investors increased their stakes in Danaher, and the stock remains 79.05% owned by hedge funds and other institutions.
• Analysts are still mostly bullish, with 19 Buy ratings and an average price target of $238.65, even though several firms recently lowered their targets; Danaher also beat quarterly EPS expectations and announced a $0.40 quarterly dividend.

Private Capital Advisors Inc. cut its position in shares of Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR - Free Report) by 10.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 47,863 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 5,824 shares during the period. Danaher makes up 1.1% of Private Capital Advisors Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Private Capital Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Danaher were worth $10,957,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of DHR. Viking Global Investors LP raised its stake in Danaher by 543.9% during the second quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 2,907,515 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $574,351,000 after purchasing an additional 2,455,994 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in Danaher by 104.7% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,333,056 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $991,923,000 after purchasing an additional 2,216,789 shares during the period. Generation Investment Management LLP raised its stake in Danaher by 34.0% during the third quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP now owns 6,654,666 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $1,319,354,000 after purchasing an additional 1,689,020 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in Danaher by 211.7% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,088,089 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $414,038,000 after purchasing an additional 1,418,243 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in Danaher by 33.9% during the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,519,013 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $697,680,000 after purchasing an additional 891,210 shares during the period. 79.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on DHR. Guggenheim reduced their target price on shares of Danaher from $275.00 to $235.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Wolfe Research reduced their target price on shares of Danaher from $260.00 to $230.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Danaher from $265.00 to $230.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Danaher from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Danaher from $270.00 to $255.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $238.65.

Danaher Price Performance

Danaher stock opened at $172.12 on Friday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $183.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $208.73. The company has a market capitalization of $121.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.81. Danaher Corporation has a 1 year low of $160.93 and a 1 year high of $242.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a current ratio of 1.87.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 20th. The conglomerate reported $2.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $5.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6 billion. Danaher had a net margin of 14.89% and a return on equity of 10.91%. The business's revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.88 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Danaher Corporation will post 8.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Danaher Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 26th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 26th. Danaher's payout ratio is 30.95%.

About Danaher

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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