Ally Financial Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

Ally Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR - Free Report) by 275.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,000 shares of the conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 11,000 shares during the period. Ally Financial Inc.'s holdings in Danaher were worth $3,443,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Danaher during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new position in Danaher during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Danaher in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of Danaher in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC raised its position in 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. Institutional investors own 79.05% of the company's stock.

Danaher Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DHR traded down $3.95 during trading on Friday, reaching $186.71. 3,667,685 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,329,253. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $201.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $226.91. Danaher Co. has a 52-week low of $171.00 and a 52-week high of $281.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $133.44 billion, a PE ratio of 35.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The conglomerate reported $2.14 earnings per share (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 period in the previous year, the company earned $2.09 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Investors of record on Friday, March 28th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. This is a boost from Danaher's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Danaher's dividend payout ratio is 24.24%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on DHR shares. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Danaher from $285.00 to $260.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Danaher from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $260.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Stifel Nicolaus raised Danaher from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $260.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Barclays upgraded shares of Danaher from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $240.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Scotiabank initiated coverage on Danaher in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. They issued a "sector perform" rating and a $265.00 price target on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $274.55.

Insider Buying and Selling at Danaher

In other news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 5,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 20,230 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,534,149.90. This represents a 21.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 11.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.