Vise Technologies Inc. Boosts Holdings in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

Vise Technologies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR - Free Report) by 110.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,671 shares of the conglomerate's stock after acquiring an additional 3,508 shares during the quarter. Vise Technologies Inc.'s holdings in Danaher were worth $1,531,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Danaher in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,130,740,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Danaher during the 4th quarter valued at about $391,172,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its holdings in Danaher by 4,248.8% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 1,639,500 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $376,347,000 after purchasing an additional 1,601,800 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its stake in shares of Danaher by 32.7% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,361,183 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $1,460,215,000 after purchasing an additional 1,566,658 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Danaher by 460.6% in the fourth quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,348,544 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $309,558,000 after purchasing an additional 1,107,998 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.05% of the company's stock.

Danaher Stock Performance

Shares of Danaher stock traded up $0.71 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $189.72. The company had a trading volume of 871,128 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,463,197. The firm has a market cap of $135.78 billion, a PE ratio of 35.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.80. Danaher Co. has a one year low of $171.00 and a one year high of $281.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $193.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $214.49.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.26. The business 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 10.82% and a net margin of 16.33%. On average, analysts anticipate that Danaher Co. 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 27th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.67%. Danaher's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Danaher from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $260.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Danaher from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Danaher in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Danaher from $260.00 to $240.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Danaher from $260.00 to $230.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $263.24.

Insider Transactions at Danaher

In other Danaher news, Chairman Steven M. Rales sold 1,250,000 shares of Danaher stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher Paul Riley sold 15,805 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,179 shares in the company, valued at $3,005,442. The trade was a 51.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 11.20% of the company's stock.

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.