Westfield Capital Management Co. LP Sells 2,727 Shares of Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR)

Key Points

• Westfield Capital Management Co. LP reduced its holding in Danaher Corporation by 14.7%, selling 2,727 shares, resulting in ownership of 15,810 shares valued at $3.24 million.
• Several institutional investors significantly increased their stakes, with GAMMA Investing LLC boosting theirs by 24,958.2% during the first quarter, now owning around $383 million worth of shares.
• Analysts have varied opinions, with TD Cowen raising the price target on Danaher to $248 and the overall consensus rating being "Moderate Buy" with a target of $247.61.

Westfield Capital Management Co. LP lowered its stake in shares of Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR - Free Report) by 14.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 15,810 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 2,727 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP's holdings in Danaher were worth $3,241,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Danaher by 24,958.2% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,870,847 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $383,524,000 after buying an additional 1,863,381 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its stake in Danaher by 4,248.8% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 1,639,500 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $376,347,000 after buying an additional 1,601,800 shares during the period. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in Danaher by 32.7% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,361,183 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $1,460,215,000 after buying an additional 1,566,658 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in Danaher by 460.6% during the fourth quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,348,544 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $309,558,000 after buying an additional 1,107,998 shares during the period. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in Danaher during the fourth quarter worth $242,837,000. 79.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Danaher

In other news, Chairman Steven M. Rales sold 1,250,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chairman owned 3,105,808 shares in the company, valued at approximately $611,036,665.92. The trade was a 28.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 11.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on DHR shares. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Danaher from $240.00 to $248.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Danaher from $280.00 to $260.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Danaher in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Danaher from $210.00 to $205.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Danaher from $230.00 to $226.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $247.61.

Danaher Stock Performance

Shares of Danaher stock opened at $199.15 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $142.60 billion, a PE ratio of 42.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.62. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $197.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $201.85. Danaher Corporation has a one year low of $171.00 and a one year high of $279.90.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.80 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.64 by $0.16. Danaher had a net margin of 14.21% and a return on equity of 10.70%. The business had revenue of $5.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.83 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.72 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Danaher Corporation will post 7.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.

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