Townsend Asset Management Corp NC ADV Acquires 1,601 Shares of Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR)

Townsend Asset Management Corp NC ADV grew its holdings in Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR - Free Report) by 7.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 22,916 shares of the conglomerate's stock after buying an additional 1,601 shares during the quarter. Danaher makes up 1.8% of Townsend Asset Management Corp NC ADV's portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. Townsend Asset Management Corp NC ADV's holdings in Danaher were worth $4,698,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Danaher in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new position in Danaher in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Danaher in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its position in Danaher by 68.4% during the 1st quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 165 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Danaher by 380.0% in the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 168 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. 79.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Danaher Stock Down 0.7%

DHR stock opened at $194.36 on Thursday. Danaher Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $171.00 and a fifty-two week high of $281.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The business has a 50-day moving average of $193.46 and a 200-day moving average of $210.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $139.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.77.

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

Danaher Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Investors of record on Friday, June 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.66%. Danaher's payout ratio is currently 24.85%.

Insider Activity at Danaher

In other news, Chairman Steven M. Rales sold 1,250,000 shares of the business's 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 completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 3,105,808 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $611,036,665.92. The trade was a 28.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher Paul Riley sold 15,805 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was 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 owns 15,179 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,005,442. This represents a 51.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 11.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DHR has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Danaher from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $260.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Wolfe Research dropped their target price on shares of Danaher from $275.00 to $220.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target 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. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Danaher from $231.00 to $225.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Leerink Partners lifted their price objective on shares of Danaher from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $248.17.

Danaher Company 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.

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