Rockland Trust Co. Lowers Position in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

Rockland Trust Co. lowered its holdings in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR - Free Report) by 18.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,700 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 1,752 shares during the quarter. Rockland Trust Co.'s holdings in Danaher were worth $1,578,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of DHR. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Danaher during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Danaher during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Kentucky Trust Co bought a new stake in Danaher during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Danaher in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Danaher during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Institutional investors own 79.05% of the company's stock.

Danaher Price Performance

DHR stock traded down $4.59 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $200.51. 3,391,410 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,489,228. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $143.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.98, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.77. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $192.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $211.44. Danaher Co. has a 12 month low of $171.00 and a 12 month high of $281.70.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $5.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.58 billion. Danaher had a return on equity of 10.82% and a net margin of 16.33%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

Danaher Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 27th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.64%. Danaher's dividend payout ratio is presently 24.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Danaher

In related news, Chairman Steven M. Rales sold 1,250,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 now directly owns 3,105,808 shares in the company, valued at $611,036,665.92. This represents a 28.70% decrease in their position. The transaction 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 dated Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were 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 directly owns 15,179 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,005,442. This trade represents a 51.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 11.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on DHR shares. Wolfe Research lowered their price objective on Danaher from $275.00 to $220.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Danaher from $260.00 to $230.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Danaher from $231.00 to $225.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Danaher from $240.00 to $210.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Argus reduced their price target on Danaher from $260.00 to $240.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Danaher has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.