Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) is Reynders McVeigh Capital Management LLC's 8th Largest Position

Reynders McVeigh Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR - Free Report) by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 228,453 shares of the conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 5,458 shares during the period. Danaher accounts for about 2.8% of Reynders McVeigh Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Reynders McVeigh Capital Management LLC's holdings in Danaher were worth $52,441,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Danaher by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 59,750,122 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $13,715,641,000 after purchasing an additional 315,912 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Danaher by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,358,206 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $3,056,996,000 after buying an additional 315,446 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Danaher in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,130,740,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Danaher by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,589,019 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $1,971,609,000 after acquiring an additional 441,012 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Danaher by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 4,578,945 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $1,051,097,000 after acquiring an additional 26,305 shares during the last quarter. 79.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Danaher

In related news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 5,700 shares of the firm's 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 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 11.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DHR has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Danaher from $285.00 to $260.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Guggenheim initiated coverage on Danaher in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. They set a "buy" rating and a $275.00 price target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Danaher from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $260.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, March 14th. 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 report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Danaher in a report on Monday, April 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Danaher currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $274.55.

Danaher Price Performance

Shares of Danaher stock traded down $3.95 on Friday, hitting $186.71. 3,667,685 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,329,070. Danaher Co. has a 1-year low of $171.00 and a 1-year high of $281.70. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $133.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $202.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $227.84.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The conglomerate reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.14. Danaher had a return on equity of 10.82% and a net margin of 16.33%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.09 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Investors of record on Friday, March 28th will be given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.69%. This is a positive change from Danaher's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. Danaher's dividend payout ratio is presently 24.24%.

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.