Wendell David Associates Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR)

Wendell David Associates Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR - Free Report) by 6.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 62,442 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 4,636 shares during the period. Danaher accounts for about 1.3% of Wendell David Associates Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Wendell David Associates Inc.'s holdings in Danaher were worth $12,801,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Danaher by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 59,750,122 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $13,715,641,000 after purchasing an additional 315,912 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Danaher by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,358,206 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $3,056,996,000 after purchasing an additional 315,446 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Danaher during the 4th quarter worth about $2,130,740,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Danaher by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,589,019 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $1,971,609,000 after buying an additional 441,012 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Danaher by 14.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,934,991 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $1,821,477,000 after buying an additional 992,594 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.05% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DHR has been the topic of several recent research reports. Argus cut their price target on Danaher from $260.00 to $240.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Bank of America cut their target price on Danaher from $265.00 to $230.00 in a report on Monday, April 14th. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of Danaher in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Danaher from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Danaher from $260.00 to $230.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Danaher presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $248.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman Steven M. Rales sold 1,250,000 shares of the company'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 transaction, the chairman now owns 3,105,808 shares of the company's stock, valued at $611,036,665.92. This represents a 28.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Christopher Paul Riley sold 15,805 shares of Danaher stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.00, for a total value of $3,129,390.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,179 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,005,442. This trade represents a 51.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 11.10% of the company's stock.

Danaher Stock Performance

Shares of DHR stock traded up $1.79 during trading on Friday, hitting $196.23. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,068,650 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,500,314. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The company has a market cap of $140.43 billion, a PE ratio of 38.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.77. The business has a fifty day moving average of $193.74 and a 200-day moving average of $210.00. Danaher Corporation has a 52 week low of $171.00 and a 52 week high of $281.70.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.26. Danaher had a return on equity of 10.80% and a net margin of 15.81%. The business had revenue of $5.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.58 billion. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Danaher Corporation will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Danaher Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.65%. Danaher's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.85%.

About Danaher

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.