Whittier Trust Co. Reduces Holdings in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

Whittier Trust Co. trimmed its stake in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR - Free Report) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 125,026 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 2,014 shares during the quarter. Whittier Trust Co.'s holdings in Danaher were worth $28,699,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Howard Capital Management Group LLC increased 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 acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Danaher by 14.6% in the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,399 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $1,779,000 after acquiring an additional 813 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in Danaher by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 303,043 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $84,252,000 after purchasing an additional 1,499 shares during the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Danaher by 17.1% in the third quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,750 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $4,379,000 after purchasing an additional 2,305 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Danaher in the 3rd quarter valued at $3,757,000. 79.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Danaher Price Performance

Shares of DHR stock traded up $1.61 on Monday, reaching $212.97. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,615,085 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,019,141. Danaher Co. has a 12-month low of $196.80 and a 12-month high of $281.70. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $216.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $238.13. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The company has a market capitalization of $152.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.33, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.82.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The conglomerate reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting 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 last year, the firm earned $2.09 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. This is a boost from Danaher's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. Danaher's dividend payout ratio is presently 24.24%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on DHR shares. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Danaher from $277.00 to $268.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $277.00 price objective (down previously from $299.00) on shares of Danaher in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup cut their target price on Danaher from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Danaher from $310.00 to $300.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Guggenheim assumed coverage on Danaher in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $275.00 price objective on the stock. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Danaher currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $278.24.

Insider Activity at Danaher

In other news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 5,700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.13, for a total value 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 approximately $4,534,149.90. The trade was a 21.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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.