Voloridge Investment Management LLC Makes New $3.76 Million Investment in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

Voloridge Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 16,392 shares of the conglomerate's stock, valued at approximately $3,763,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of DHR. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Danaher during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Danaher during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Danaher during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC lifted its position in Danaher by 63.3% during the fourth quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC now owns 147 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new stake in Danaher during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.05% of the company's stock.

Danaher Stock Performance

DHR stock traded down $0.93 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $189.54. 6,514,078 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,485,041. The firm has a market cap of $135.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.90, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.80. 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 stock's fifty day simple moving average is $193.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $214.13. Danaher Co. has a 1-year low of $171.00 and a 1-year high of $281.70.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.26. Danaher had a net margin of 16.33% and a return on equity of 10.82%. The business had revenue of $5.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.58 billion. On average, analysts expect that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Danaher Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 27th will be given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.68%. Danaher's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.85%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Steven M. Rales sold 1,250,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.74, for a total value of $245,925,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 3,105,808 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $611,036,665.92. This trade represents a 28.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Christopher Paul Riley sold 15,805 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 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. Company insiders own 11.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on DHR shares. Raymond James reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Danaher in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Danaher from $260.00 to $230.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Danaher from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Danaher from $280.00 to $240.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, HSBC decreased their price target on shares of Danaher from $270.00 to $240.00 in a report on Friday, April 25th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $263.24.

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.