Kelly Lawrence W & Associates Inc. CA Boosts Stock Holdings in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

Kelly Lawrence W & Associates Inc. CA raised its position in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR - Free Report) by 4.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 53,597 shares of the conglomerate's stock after buying an additional 2,180 shares during the quarter. Danaher comprises about 2.9% of Kelly Lawrence W & Associates Inc. CA's portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. Kelly Lawrence W & Associates Inc. CA's holdings in Danaher were worth $12,303,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. MML Investors Services LLC boosted its stake in Danaher by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 91,504 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $21,005,000 after buying an additional 1,984 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Danaher by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 170,193 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $39,068,000 after acquiring an additional 3,006 shares during the last quarter. Norinchukin Bank The grew its holdings in shares of Danaher by 11.1% during the 4th quarter. Norinchukin Bank The now owns 30,045 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $6,897,000 after purchasing an additional 3,002 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Inc. CA increased its position in Danaher by 13.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Inc. CA now owns 276,163 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $63,393,000 after purchasing an additional 31,905 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in Danaher by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,812,728 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $1,334,312,000 after purchasing an additional 370,111 shares in the last quarter. 79.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 5,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the senior vice president now 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 sale 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 company insiders.

Danaher Trading Up 0.1 %

DHR stock traded up $0.17 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $196.48. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,453,380 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,353,704. Danaher Co. has a 12 month low of $171.00 and a 12 month high of $281.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The business's 50 day moving average price is $201.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $225.57. The company has a market cap of $140.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.86.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Danaher from $260.00 to $230.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Danaher in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Danaher in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Raymond James reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Danaher in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Danaher from $231.00 to $225.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $264.40.

Danaher 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.