Congress Asset Management Co. Buys 6,485 Shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

Congress Asset Management Co. boosted its position in shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR - Free Report) by 629.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,516 shares of the conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 6,485 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co.'s holdings in Danaher were worth $1,725,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DHR. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Danaher during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new position in Danaher during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Danaher during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of Danaher during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC grew 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 acquiring an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. 79.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Danaher Stock Performance

Danaher stock traded up $1.91 on Friday, reaching $209.86. 6,209,935 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,574,762. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $226.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $247.11. The stock has a market cap of $151.58 billion, a PE ratio of 39.75, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.83. 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 twelve month low of $196.80 and a twelve month high of $281.70.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The conglomerate reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting 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 in the previous year, the company earned $2.09 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate 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. Investors of record on Friday, March 28th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.61%. This is a boost from Danaher's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Danaher's payout ratio is presently 20.45%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Danaher from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Danaher from $280.00 to $240.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $277.00 price target (down from $299.00) on shares of Danaher in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Guggenheim assumed coverage on shares of Danaher in a report on Thursday, December 19th. They set a "buy" rating and a $275.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Danaher from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $290.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, December 13th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Danaher currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $278.00.

Insider Activity at Danaher

In other Danaher 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 20,230 shares of the company's stock, 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 can be accessed through this link. 11.10% of the stock is currently owned by 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.