iA Global Asset Management Inc. Raises Position in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

iA Global Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR - Free Report) by 8.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 111,176 shares of the conglomerate's stock after buying an additional 8,677 shares during the period. iA Global Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Danaher were worth $25,520,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Gilbert & Cook Inc. raised its stake in shares of Danaher by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 1,749 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $401,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Grimes & Company Inc. increased its holdings in Danaher by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. now owns 7,390 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $1,696,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA raised its position in Danaher by 16.4% during the fourth quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 320 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Group LLC grew its position in shares of Danaher by 4.1% in the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 1,229 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $342,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Finally, Spinnaker Trust grew its position in shares of Danaher by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Spinnaker Trust now owns 4,304 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $988,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. 79.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Danaher Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:DHR traded up $1.61 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $212.97. 3,615,085 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,019,141. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $216.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $238.13. Danaher Co. has a fifty-two week low of $196.80 and a fifty-two week 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 cap of $152.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.82.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.09 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Danaher from $285.00 to $260.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Scotiabank started coverage on Danaher in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. They issued a "sector perform" rating and a $265.00 target price on the stock. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Danaher from $277.00 to $268.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Danaher from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $277.00 target price (down previously from $299.00) on shares of Danaher in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $278.24.

Insider Transactions at Danaher

In related news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 5,700 shares of the 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 20,230 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,534,149.90. This represents a 21.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company 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.