KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Invests $51.37 Million in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 223,551 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $51,367,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Danaher in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new stake in Danaher in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Danaher in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America purchased a new stake in Danaher in the 3rd quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Danaher by 63.3% during the 4th quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC now owns 147 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. 79.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Danaher

In related news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 5,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.13, for a total transaction 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 $4,534,149.90. The trade was a 21.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 10.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Danaher Price Performance

NYSE DHR opened at $211.63 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $217.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $238.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Danaher Co. has a 12-month low of $196.80 and a 12-month high of $281.70. The firm has a market capitalization 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The conglomerate reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.14. Danaher had a net margin of 16.33% and a return on equity of 10.82%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.09 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Danaher from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, March 14th. Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Danaher in a report on Monday, December 23rd. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $265.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Danaher from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, December 14th. Bank of America raised shares of Danaher from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $290.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Danaher from $285.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus 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.