Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) Shares Bought by Mechanics Bank Trust Department

Mechanics Bank Trust Department grew its stake in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR - Free Report) by 14.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 9,233 shares of the conglomerate's stock after acquiring an additional 1,193 shares during the period. Mechanics Bank Trust Department's holdings in Danaher were worth $2,119,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its stake in Danaher by 3.2% during the third quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 1,231 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $342,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Certified Advisory Corp increased its stake in Danaher by 4.5% during the 2nd quarter. Certified Advisory Corp now owns 926 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $231,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Meridian Financial Partners LLC boosted its position in Danaher by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Meridian Financial Partners LLC now owns 957 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $266,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Kovack Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Danaher by 3.4% in the third quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 1,243 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $346,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Well Done LLC increased its position in shares of Danaher by 1.2% during the third quarter. Well Done LLC now owns 3,551 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $987,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.05% of the company's stock.

Danaher Stock Performance

Danaher stock traded down $3.49 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $238.41. 3,044,734 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,640,177. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $234.85 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $253.51. Danaher Co. has a twelve month low of $222.53 and a twelve month high of $281.70. The firm has a market cap of $172.20 billion, a PE ratio of 45.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.23 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.37.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $5.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.59 billion. Danaher had a return on equity of 10.62% and a net margin of 16.39%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.02 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Danaher Co. will post 7.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 27th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.45%. Danaher's dividend payout ratio is currently 20.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DHR has been the subject of several analyst reports. Guggenheim began coverage on Danaher in a report on Thursday, December 19th. They set a "buy" rating and a $275.00 price target on the stock. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Danaher from $275.00 to $278.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Danaher from $278.00 to $277.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Danaher from $333.00 to $311.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Danaher from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, December 14th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Danaher currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $286.80.

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.