Capital International Inc. CA Raises Stock Position in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

Capital International Inc. CA increased its stake in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR - Free Report) by 13.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 276,163 shares of the conglomerate's stock after acquiring an additional 31,905 shares during the quarter. Capital International Inc. CA's holdings in Danaher were worth $63,393,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Danaher in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new position in Danaher during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Danaher in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Danaher during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Danaher by 63.3% in the fourth 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 period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.05% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Danaher

In other Danaher news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 5,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 20,230 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,534,149.90. This trade represents a 21.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 11.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on DHR. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Danaher from $260.00 to $230.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Danaher from $280.00 to $260.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Danaher from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $260.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Danaher in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Danaher from $231.00 to $225.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $264.40.

Danaher Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:DHR traded down $0.36 during trading on Thursday, hitting $195.96. 1,970,904 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,527,906. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $201.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $225.57. Danaher Co. has a 12-month low of $171.00 and a 12-month high of $281.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $140.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.12, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.86.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $5.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.58 billion. Danaher had a return on equity of 10.82% and a net margin of 16.33%. On average, research analysts predict that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. This is a positive change from Danaher's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.65%. Danaher's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.85%.

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.