Wealth Enhancement Trust Services Inc. Buys Shares of 14,087 Danaher Corporation $DHR

Key Points

• Wealth Enhancement Trust Services opened a new stake in Danaher by purchasing 14,087 shares (~$3.225 million) in Q4, while other institutions (e.g., Viking Global, MFS, Generation) also materially increased positions, leaving institutional ownership at 79.05%.
• Danaher beat Q4 estimates with EPS $2.23 vs $2.14 and revenue of $6.84B vs $6.79B (revenue +4.6% y/y), and analysts expect about 7.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend from $0.32 to $0.40 (annualized $1.60, yield 0.8%), and the stock carries an average analyst rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $246.50.

Wealth Enhancement Trust Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 14,087 shares of the conglomerate's stock, valued at approximately $3,225,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Viking Global Investors LP lifted its holdings in Danaher by 543.9% during the second 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 increased its stake 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 worth $991,923,000 after purchasing an additional 2,216,789 shares in the last quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP increased its stake in shares of Danaher by 34.0% in the third quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP now owns 6,654,666 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $1,319,354,000 after purchasing an additional 1,689,020 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Danaher by 211.7% in the third 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 period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in shares of Danaher by 33.9% during the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,519,013 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $697,680,000 after buying an additional 891,210 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.05% of the company's stock.

Danaher Stock Performance

Danaher stock opened at $194.77 on Friday. Danaher Corporation has a 1-year low of $180.03 and a 1-year high of $242.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $137.84 billion, a PE ratio of 38.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.95. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $198.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $214.79.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The conglomerate reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.14 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $6.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.79 billion. Danaher had a net margin of 14.71% and a return on equity of 10.81%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.14 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Danaher Corporation will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 24th. Investors of record on Friday, March 27th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 27th. This is a positive change from Danaher's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Danaher's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on DHR shares. Wolfe Research cut their price objective on shares of Danaher from $260.00 to $230.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. 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 report on Friday, January 16th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Danaher from $251.00 to $249.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Danaher in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their price objective on Danaher from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 2nd. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $246.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Danaher news, EVP Gregory M. Milosevich sold 1,320 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.01, for a total value of $274,573.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 5,099 shares in the company, valued at $1,060,642.99. This represents a 20.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 10.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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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