Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Grows Position in Danaher Corporation $DHR

Key Points

• Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its Danaher stake by 13.2% in the fourth quarter, buying 104,857 additional shares and bringing its total holdings to 900,288 shares worth about $206.1 million.
• Danaher reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $2.06 per share, topping estimates, while revenue rose 3.7% year over year to $5.95 billion, just shy of analyst forecasts.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on DHR despite recent target cuts, with 18 Buy ratings and 3 Hold ratings and a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating; the average price target is $238.65.

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position in shares of Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR - Free Report) by 13.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 900,288 shares of the conglomerate's stock after buying an additional 104,857 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned about 0.13% of Danaher worth $206,103,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in DHR. Viking Global Investors LP lifted its stake in shares of Danaher by 543.9% in the 2nd quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 2,907,515 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $574,351,000 after purchasing an additional 2,455,994 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of Danaher by 104.7% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,333,056 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $991,923,000 after purchasing an additional 2,216,789 shares during the last quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP lifted its stake in shares of Danaher by 34.0% in the 3rd quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP now owns 6,654,666 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $1,319,354,000 after purchasing an additional 1,689,020 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Danaher by 211.7% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,088,089 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $414,038,000 after purchasing an additional 1,418,243 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in shares of Danaher by 33.9% in the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,519,013 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $697,680,000 after purchasing an additional 891,210 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.05% of the company's stock.

Danaher Price Performance

Shares of DHR stock opened at $164.59 on Friday. Danaher Corporation has a 52-week low of $163.32 and a 52-week high of $242.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a current ratio of 1.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $116.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.81. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $187.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $210.72.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 20th. The conglomerate reported $2.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.12. Danaher had a return on equity of 10.91% and a net margin of 14.89%.The firm had revenue of $5.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.88 EPS. Danaher's quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Danaher Corporation will post 8.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Danaher Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Investors of record on Friday, June 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 26th. Danaher's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on DHR shares. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Danaher from $245.00 to $240.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Danaher in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Argus lowered their price objective on Danaher from $265.00 to $230.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Danaher from $270.00 to $255.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Danaher from $240.00 to $212.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Danaher has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $238.65.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Gregory M. Milosevich sold 1,320 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.01, for a total transaction of $274,573.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 5,099 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,060,642.99. This trade represents a 20.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 10.80% of the company's stock.

Danaher Profile

Danaher Corporation NYSE: DHR is a global science and technology company that designs, manufactures and markets products and services for the life sciences, diagnostics, and environmental and applied markets. The company organizes its operations into business segments focused on Life Sciences, Diagnostics, and Environmental & Applied Solutions, supplying instruments, reagents, software and related services that support research, clinical testing, biopharmaceutical development, and industrial and environmental monitoring.

Products and services in Danaher's portfolio include analytical and diagnostic instruments, laboratory consumables and reagents, digital and software solutions for workflow and data management, field and industrial monitoring equipment, and service and maintenance programs.

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