Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) Position Lifted by Robeco Schweiz AG

Robeco Schweiz AG increased its position in Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR - Free Report) by 26.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 327,058 shares of the conglomerate's stock after buying an additional 67,513 shares during the period. Danaher comprises 1.6% of Robeco Schweiz AG's portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Robeco Schweiz AG's holdings in Danaher were worth $67,047,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Danaher by 396.0% during the 1st quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 124 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the period. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Danaher in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Sierra Ocean LLC lifted its position 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. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Danaher in the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Danaher in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.05% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, 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 value of $3,129,390.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 15,179 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,005,442. This represents a 51.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Steven M. Rales sold 1,250,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The shares were 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 11.10% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on DHR. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Danaher from $240.00 to $248.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Danaher in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wolfe Research decreased their price target on shares of Danaher from $275.00 to $220.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Danaher in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Danaher from $260.00 to $230.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $248.43.

Danaher Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:DHR traded down $0.71 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $204.80. 2,369,010 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,508,130. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $196.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $206.30. The firm has a market cap of $146.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.77, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.43. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.26. Danaher had a net margin of 15.81% and a return on equity of 10.80%. The company had revenue of $5.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.58 billion. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Danaher Corporation will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

Danaher Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Investors of record on Friday, June 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.63%. Danaher's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.85%.

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.