Parallel Advisors LLC Trims Stake in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

Parallel Advisors LLC lessened its position in shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 5.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,646 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 737 shares during the quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC’s holdings in Danaher were worth $2,903,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DHR. Howard Capital Management Group LLC grew its position in Danaher by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 1,229 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $342,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of Danaher by 5.8% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 15,870 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $4,412,000 after buying an additional 876 shares during the last quarter. Atlanta Consulting Group Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Danaher during the third quarter worth about $267,000. Aljian Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Danaher during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $652,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Danaher during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,941,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.05% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Danaher

In related news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 5,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.13, for a total value of $1,277,541.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 20,230 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,534,149.90. This represents a 21.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 11.10% of the company’s stock.

Danaher Price Performance

DHR stock opened at $212.78 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.40. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $219.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $240.07. The firm has a market cap of $152.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.30, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.82. Danaher Co. has a 1 year low of $196.80 and a 1 year high of $281.70.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The conglomerate reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14. Danaher had a return on equity of 10.82% and a net margin of 16.33%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.09 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. This is a positive change from Danaher’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Danaher’s payout ratio is currently 24.24%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Bank of America upgraded Danaher from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $290.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Danaher from $310.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Danaher from $275.00 to $240.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Danaher from $280.00 to $240.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Danaher from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Danaher currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $277.76.

Danaher Company 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.