Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) Shares Sold by First Foundation Advisors

First Foundation Advisors cut its position in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR - Free Report) by 10.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 33,712 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 3,975 shares during the period. First Foundation Advisors' holdings in Danaher were worth $7,739,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in DHR. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Danaher in the fourth quarter worth about $2,130,740,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Danaher in the fourth quarter worth approximately $391,172,000. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in Danaher by 6,862.7% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 929,868 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $213,452,000 after buying an additional 916,513 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC increased its holdings in Danaher by 31.8% during the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 3,105,388 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $712,842,000 after buying an additional 749,136 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Danaher by 29,287.7% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 588,929 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $135,189,000 after acquiring an additional 586,925 shares during the period. 79.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Danaher Stock Down 2.0 %

Shares of DHR traded down $3.77 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $189.20. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,530,004 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,499,256. 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 company's 50-day moving average is $203.33 and its 200-day moving average is $229.00. Danaher Co. has a 52-week low of $171.00 and a 52-week high of $281.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $135.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.83, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.86.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The conglomerate reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, hitting 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 period in the prior year, the business earned $2.09 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. This is a positive change from Danaher's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Danaher's payout ratio is 24.24%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 5,700 shares of Danaher stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 $4,534,149.90. The trade was a 21.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 11.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on DHR shares. Scotiabank assumed coverage on Danaher in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. They issued a "sector perform" rating and a $265.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded 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. Raymond James reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Danaher in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Guggenheim started coverage on Danaher in a report on Thursday, December 19th. They set a "buy" rating and a $275.00 price target on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Danaher from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $260.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $276.57.

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.