CIBC Asset Management Inc Raises Stock Position in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its position in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR - Free Report) by 24.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 254,327 shares of the conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 49,964 shares during the quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc's holdings in Danaher were worth $58,308,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Danaher in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Danaher during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Danaher during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Danaher during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Danaher by 63.3% during the fourth quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC now owns 147 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.05% of the company's stock.

Danaher Stock Performance

NYSE DHR traded up $3.12 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $208.10. The company had a trading volume of 4,712,380 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,525,009. Danaher Co. has a 1-year low of $196.80 and a 1-year high of $281.70. The company has a market cap of $150.31 billion, a PE ratio of 39.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.83. The business has a 50 day moving average of $227.74 and a 200-day moving average of $247.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.40.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The conglomerate reported $2.14 earnings per share 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 business earned $2.09 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Danaher Co. will post 7.67 EPS for the current year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 0.62%. Danaher's dividend payout ratio is 20.45%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on DHR. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Danaher from $250.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Danaher from $280.00 to $240.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Danaher from $277.00 to $268.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $315.00 target price on shares of Danaher in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Danaher from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, December 14th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $278.00.

Insider Transactions at Danaher

In other news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 5,700 shares of the 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 in the company, valued at approximately $4,534,149.90. This represents a 21.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 11.10% of the company's stock.

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.