Thoma Capital Management LLC Makes New $618,000 Investment in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

Thoma Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 2,692 shares of the conglomerate's stock, valued at approximately $618,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in DHR. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Danaher during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Danaher during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Danaher during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Danaher by 63.3% in the fourth quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC now owns 147 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the period. Finally, Kentucky Trust Co acquired a new stake in Danaher in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Institutional investors own 79.05% of the company's stock.

Danaher Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DHR traded down $0.93 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $189.54. 6,514,078 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,479,894. The firm has a market capitalization of $135.65 billion, a PE ratio of 35.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.40. Danaher Co. has a 12 month low of $171.00 and a 12 month high of $281.70. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $192.72 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $213.41.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR - Get Free Report) last issued 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. The company had revenue of $5.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.58 billion. Danaher had a return on equity of 10.82% and a net margin of 16.33%. Equities research analysts expect that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.68%. Danaher's dividend payout ratio is currently 24.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DHR has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Danaher from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $260.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, March 14th. UBS Group lowered their price target 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. Raymond James restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Danaher in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Danaher in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $263.24.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Danaher news, EVP Christopher Paul Riley sold 15,805 shares of Danaher stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,179 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,005,442. The trade was a 51.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Steven M. Rales sold 1,250,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $196.74, for a total value of $245,925,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 3,105,808 shares in the company, 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 11.20% 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.