US Bancorp DE Raises Position in Danaher Corporation $DHR

Key Points

• US Bancorp DE increased its stake in Danaher by 2.7% in Q4 to 594,572 shares (about $136.11 million), while institutional investors now own roughly 79.05% of the company.
• Danaher beat EPS estimates ($2.06 vs. $1.94) but slightly missed revenue expectations ($5.95B vs. $6.0B), and analysts maintain a "Moderate Buy" consensus with an average target of $240.70.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.40 (annualized $1.60, yield ~0.9%); the stock trades near $178 with a market cap of about $126.31B and a P/E of 34.5.

US Bancorp DE grew its stake in Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR - Free Report) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 594,572 shares of the conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 15,674 shares during the quarter. US Bancorp DE owned approximately 0.08% of Danaher worth $136,110,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of DHR. Viking Global Investors LP increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 2,455,994 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of Danaher by 104.7% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,333,056 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $991,923,000 after acquiring an additional 2,216,789 shares in the last quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP increased its position in shares of Danaher by 34.0% during the third quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP now owns 6,654,666 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $1,319,354,000 after acquiring an additional 1,689,020 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Danaher by 211.7% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,088,089 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $414,038,000 after acquiring an additional 1,418,243 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in Danaher by 33.9% during the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,519,013 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $697,680,000 after acquiring an additional 891,210 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.05% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Gregory M. Milosevich sold 1,320 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 5,099 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,060,642.99. The trade was a 20.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 10.80% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on DHR shares. TD Cowen reduced 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. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Danaher from $265.00 to $230.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 13th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $245.00 price target on shares of Danaher in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Danaher from $270.00 to $255.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Leerink Partners boosted their target price on shares of Danaher from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $240.70.

Danaher Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of Danaher stock opened at $178.47 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $126.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.95. Danaher Corporation has a 52-week low of $175.00 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 stock's 50-day simple moving average is $193.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $213.38.

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

Danaher Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 27th were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 27th. This is an increase from Danaher's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Danaher's dividend payout ratio is 30.95%.

Danaher Company 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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