Colonial Trust Advisors Decreases Stock Holdings in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

Colonial Trust Advisors trimmed its position in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR - Free Report) by 92.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 261 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 3,383 shares during the period. Colonial Trust Advisors' holdings in Danaher were worth $60,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Scotia Capital Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Danaher by 14.5% during the fourth quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 373,940 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $85,840,000 after acquiring an additional 47,447 shares during the period. CenterBook Partners LP lifted its position in shares of Danaher by 38.6% during the 4th quarter. CenterBook Partners LP now owns 17,685 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $4,060,000 after buying an additional 4,923 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Danaher by 17.1% during the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 2,401,117 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $551,177,000 after purchasing an additional 350,815 shares during the last quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P increased its stake in shares of Danaher by 14.4% in the fourth quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 1,507 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $346,000 after buying an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tandem Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Danaher during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $692,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.05% of the company's stock.

Danaher Stock Performance

DHR stock traded up $2.20 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $192.12. The company had a trading volume of 1,567,018 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,318,130. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $202.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $228.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $137.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.39, 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 Co. has a one year low of $171.00 and a one year high of $281.70.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The conglomerate reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.14. Danaher had a return on equity of 10.82% and a net margin of 16.33%. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.09 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Investors of record on Friday, March 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This is an increase from Danaher's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.67%. Danaher's payout ratio is presently 24.24%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on DHR shares. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Danaher from $277.00 to $268.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Danaher from $310.00 to $300.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Danaher from $280.00 to $240.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Danaher from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $260.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Guggenheim initiated coverage on shares of Danaher in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. They set a "buy" rating and a $275.00 price objective for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $276.57.

Insider Transactions at Danaher

In other news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 5,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 20,230 shares in the company, valued at $4,534,149.90. This trade represents a 21.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 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.