Groupama Asset Managment Sells 60,497 Shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

Groupama Asset Managment lessened its stake in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR - Free Report) by 63.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 34,908 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 60,497 shares during the quarter. Groupama Asset Managment's holdings in Danaher were worth $8,017,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund boosted its holdings in shares of Danaher by 11.6% in the 4th quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 21,233 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $4,874,000 after purchasing an additional 2,202 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC boosted its stake in Danaher by 1,212.8% in the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 2,770 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $636,000 after buying an additional 2,559 shares in the last quarter. Generate Investment Management Ltd bought a new position in Danaher in the fourth quarter valued at about $8,044,000. Stifel Financial Corp raised its stake in Danaher by 1.3% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 847,348 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $235,583,000 after acquiring an additional 11,216 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Compass Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Danaher by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Compass Capital Management Inc. now owns 237,922 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $54,615,000 after acquiring an additional 10,994 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.05% of the company's stock.

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Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 5,700 shares of Danaher stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 11.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Danaher from $285.00 to $260.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Stifel Nicolaus raised Danaher from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $260.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, March 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Danaher from $280.00 to $240.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Danaher from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $260.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Danaher from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, December 14th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $278.24.

Danaher Trading Down 8.3 %

NYSE DHR traded down $16.49 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $181.42. 7,117,117 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,229,595. The firm has a market cap of $129.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.36, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.86. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $209.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $233.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Danaher Co. has a 1-year low of $181.20 and a 1-year high of $281.70.

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

Danaher Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. This is a boost from Danaher's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Danaher's dividend payout ratio is 24.24%.

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.