Private Wealth Partners LLC Lowers Holdings in Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR)

Private Wealth Partners LLC trimmed its holdings in Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR - Free Report) by 4.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 94,203 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 4,577 shares during the quarter. Danaher makes up approximately 1.6% of Private Wealth Partners LLC's holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Private Wealth Partners LLC's holdings in Danaher were worth $19,312,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC increased its holdings in Danaher by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC now owns 29,855 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $6,853,000 after acquiring an additional 440 shares during the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in Danaher during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $74,551,000. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its position in Danaher by 22.8% in the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 192,731 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $44,241,000 after purchasing an additional 35,730 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new position in Danaher during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Danaher by 20.8% during the fourth quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 2,586 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $594,000 after acquiring an additional 446 shares during the last quarter. 79.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Danaher Stock Performance

DHR opened at $194.36 on Friday. 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 firm has a 50 day moving average of $193.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $210.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $139.10 billion, a PE ratio of 37.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.77.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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. On average, analysts anticipate that Danaher Corporation will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

Danaher Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Investors of record on Friday, June 27th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.66%. Danaher's dividend payout ratio is currently 24.85%.

Insider Activity at Danaher

In other news, Chairman Steven M. Rales sold 1,250,000 shares of the company'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 transaction of $245,925,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 3,105,808 shares of the company's stock, valued at $611,036,665.92. This represents a 28.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Christopher Paul Riley sold 15,805 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,179 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,005,442. This represents a 51.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 11.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on DHR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Danaher from $280.00 to $260.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wolfe Research decreased their price objective on shares of Danaher from $275.00 to $220.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Danaher from $240.00 to $210.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Danaher in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on Danaher from $240.00 to $235.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $248.17.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.