Sone Capital Management LLC Buys New Stake in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

Sone Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 50,636 shares of the conglomerate's stock, valued at approximately $11,623,000. Danaher comprises about 1.5% of Sone Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Danaher during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Danaher during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Danaher during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC grew its stake in Danaher by 63.3% during the 4th quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC now owns 147 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new stake in Danaher during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.05% of the company's stock.

Danaher Stock Up 0.4%

Danaher stock traded up $0.66 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $187.47. 3,097,232 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,470,141. The company has a market cap of $134.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.80. Danaher Co. has a twelve month low of $171.00 and a twelve month high of $281.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The company has a fifty day moving average of $196.07 and a 200-day moving average of $216.57.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR - Get Free Report) last released 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. The company had revenue of $5.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.58 billion. Danaher had a net margin of 16.33% and a return on equity of 10.82%. Sell-side analysts expect that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

Danaher Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 27th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.68%. Danaher's payout ratio is 24.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DHR has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Danaher from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Danaher from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Danaher from $260.00 to $240.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Danaher from $231.00 to $225.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of Danaher in a report on Monday, April 7th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $263.24.

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 now directly owns 15,179 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,005,442. This trade represents a 51.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman Steven M. Rales sold 1,250,000 shares of the firm'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 owns 3,105,808 shares in the company, valued at $611,036,665.92. The trade was a 28.70% 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.

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.