Generali Investments Management Co LLC Makes New $3.66 Million Investment in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

Generali Investments Management Co LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 15,931 shares of the conglomerate's stock, valued at approximately $3,657,000. Danaher makes up 0.9% of Generali Investments Management Co LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of DHR. Howard Capital Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Danaher by 4.1% during the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 1,229 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $342,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Danaher during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,941,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Danaher during the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Pathstone Holdings LLC grew its position in Danaher by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 112,444 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $31,263,000 after purchasing an additional 795 shares during the period. Finally, Knuff & Co LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Danaher by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Knuff & Co LLC now owns 8,258 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $2,296,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the period. 79.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 transaction of $1,277,541.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 20,230 shares in the company, valued at $4,534,149.90. This represents a 21.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 10.90% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on DHR. Raymond James reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Danaher in a report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Danaher from $310.00 to $300.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Danaher from $285.00 to $260.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Stifel Nicolaus raised Danaher from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $260.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Danaher from $280.00 to $240.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $278.24.

Danaher Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of DHR stock traded up $1.38 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $211.63. The stock had a trading volume of 6,383,342 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,016,750. The firm has a market capitalization of $151.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 1.05. Danaher Co. has a 12-month low of $196.80 and a 12-month high of $281.70. The firm's 50-day moving average is $217.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $238.68.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The conglomerate reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting 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 last year, the firm earned $2.09 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The business 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 represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.60%. This is a positive change from Danaher's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Danaher's dividend payout ratio is currently 24.24%.

About Danaher

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.