Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) Stake Raised by Prudential Financial Inc.

Prudential Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 3.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 882,312 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 26,982 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in Danaher were worth $202,535,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Danaher during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new position in Danaher during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Danaher during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in Danaher during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC increased its stake in Danaher by 63.3% in the 4th quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC now owns 147 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the period. 79.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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 shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,534,149.90. This represents a 21.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 11.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Danaher Price Performance

Danaher stock opened at $211.63 on Monday. 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 business’s fifty day moving average is $217.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $238.50. Danaher Co. has a 52 week low of $196.80 and a 52 week high of $281.70. The firm has a market cap of $151.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.82.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The conglomerate reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14. Danaher had a net margin of 16.33% and a return on equity of 10.82%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.09 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Danaher Co. 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 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. This is a positive change from Danaher’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.60%. Danaher’s payout ratio is currently 24.24%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on DHR. Raymond James restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Danaher in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $277.00 price target (down previously from $299.00) on shares of Danaher in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Danaher from $285.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Bank of America raised Danaher from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $290.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Guggenheim began coverage on shares of Danaher in a report on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $275.00 price target for the company. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $278.24.

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.