Rice Partnership LLC Sells 18,852 Shares of Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR)

Rice Partnership LLC lowered its stake in shares of Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR - Free Report) by 39.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 29,068 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 18,852 shares during the period. Danaher accounts for approximately 1.2% of Rice Partnership LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Rice Partnership LLC's holdings in Danaher were worth $5,959,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Danaher by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,983 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $914,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co lifted its stake in shares of Danaher by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co now owns 8,287 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $1,902,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC increased its position in Danaher by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC now owns 1,099 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $252,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Danaher by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,343 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $538,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC increased its position in shares of Danaher by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 1,739 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $399,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.05% of the company's stock.

Danaher Stock Up 0.2%

NYSE DHR traded up $0.41 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $200.04. 1,940,667 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,489,393. The company's 50-day moving average is $195.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $206.90. Danaher Corporation has a one year low of $171.00 and a one year high of $281.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.43. The company has a market capitalization of $143.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.77.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.88 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $5.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.58 billion. On average, analysts forecast that Danaher Corporation will post 7.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 27th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.64%. Danaher's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Danaher from $265.00 to $230.00 in a research note on Monday, April 14th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Danaher from $275.00 to $240.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Danaher from $240.00 to $248.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Danaher from $260.00 to $230.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Danaher from $230.00 to $226.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Danaher presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $248.00.

Insider Activity at Danaher

In other Danaher news, Chairman Steven M. Rales sold 1,250,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chairman owned 3,105,808 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher Paul Riley sold 15,805 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.00, for a total value of $3,129,390.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 15,179 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,005,442. This represents a 51.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 11.20% of the company's stock.

Danaher 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.