Sawgrass Asset Management LLC Raises Stock Position in Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR)

Sawgrass Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR - Free Report) by 22.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 65,643 shares of the conglomerate's stock after buying an additional 11,924 shares during the period. Danaher makes up 1.7% of Sawgrass Asset Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC's holdings in Danaher were worth $13,457,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of DHR. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co increased its position in Danaher by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co now owns 8,287 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $1,902,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Danaher by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC now owns 1,099 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $252,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Danaher by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,343 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $538,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the period. Finally, Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC grew its position in shares of Danaher by 3.1% during 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 during the last quarter. 79.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Danaher Stock Up 0.9%

DHR opened at $196.23 on Monday. 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 cap of $140.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.10, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.77. Danaher Corporation has a one year low of $171.00 and a one year high of $281.70. The business's fifty day moving average is $193.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $209.38.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.26. Danaher had a net margin of 15.81% and a return on equity of 10.80%. The firm had revenue of $5.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.58 billion. Analysts anticipate that Danaher Corporation will post 7.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.65%. Danaher's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.85%.

Insider Activity

In other Danaher news, Chairman Steven M. Rales sold 1,250,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the chairman now 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 document filed 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 shares were 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 now owns 15,179 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,005,442. The trade was a 51.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 11.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on DHR shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on shares of Danaher from $240.00 to $235.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Danaher from $240.00 to $210.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Danaher in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. HSBC reduced their price objective on Danaher from $270.00 to $240.00 in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Danaher from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company 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.

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