The Goldman Sachs Group Lowers Danaher (NYSE:DHR) Price Target to $230.00

Key Points

• The Goldman Sachs Group cut its price target on Danaher to $230 from $265 while maintaining a "buy" rating, implying roughly an 18.3% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst consensus remains positive with 18 Buys and 3 Holds, giving Danaher a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $249.60.
• Danaher recently beat quarterly estimates with $2.23 EPS vs $2.14 and $6.84B revenue, and trades near $194.49 with a market cap around $137.6B and a P/E of about 38.6.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR - Get Free Report) had its target price cut by investment analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from $265.00 to $230.00 in a research note issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "buy" rating on the conglomerate's stock. The Goldman Sachs Group's price target would indicate a potential upside of 18.26% from the stock's previous close.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Danaher in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Evercore reduced their price target on shares of Danaher from $254.00 to $225.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 6th. KeyCorp reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Danaher in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Danaher in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Danaher from $265.00 to $240.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $249.60.

Danaher Trading Up 2.6%

NYSE DHR traded up $4.88 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $194.49. The company had a trading volume of 2,629,277 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,003,906. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $201.03 and a 200 day moving average of $214.68. Danaher 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 stock has a market capitalization of $137.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.95.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 company had revenue of $6.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.79 billion. Danaher had a net margin of 14.71% and a return on equity of 10.81%. Danaher's revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.14 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Danaher will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Gregory M. Milosevich sold 1,320 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.01, for a total transaction of $274,573.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 5,099 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,060,642.99. This trade represents a 20.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 10.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Danaher

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of DHR. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Danaher during the fourth quarter worth $2,177,106,000. Viking Global Investors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Danaher by 543.9% during the second quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 2,907,515 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $574,351,000 after purchasing an additional 2,455,994 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Danaher by 104.7% during 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 during the period. Generation Investment Management LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Danaher by 34.0% during 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 during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Danaher by 11.2% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 15,076,796 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $3,451,380,000 after purchasing an additional 1,517,904 shares during the period. 79.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Danaher

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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