Ostrum Asset Management Has $30.29 Million Stock Position in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

Ostrum Asset Management lowered its holdings in shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR - Free Report) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 131,933 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 2,925 shares during the quarter. Danaher comprises about 2.6% of Ostrum Asset Management's investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Ostrum Asset Management's holdings in Danaher were worth $30,285,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Gilbert & Cook Inc. grew its stake in Danaher by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 1,749 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $401,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. grew its position in shares of Danaher by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. now owns 7,390 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $1,696,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA increased its stake in shares of Danaher by 16.4% in the fourth quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 320 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Danaher by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 1,229 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $342,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Spinnaker Trust boosted its stake in Danaher by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Spinnaker Trust now owns 4,304 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $988,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. 79.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Danaher Price Performance

Danaher stock traded up $0.87 on Friday, reaching $197.37. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,608,657 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,536,787. The business's fifty day moving average price is $201.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $225.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.40. The company has a market cap of $141.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.38, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.86. Danaher Co. has a twelve month low of $171.00 and a twelve month high of $281.70.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $5.74 billion for 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%. Equities analysts expect that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. This is a positive change from Danaher's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Danaher's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.85%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on DHR. Barclays upped their price target on Danaher from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Danaher in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Danaher from $275.00 to $240.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Danaher from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $260.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Danaher from $260.00 to $230.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Danaher presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $264.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Danaher news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 5,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was 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 represents a 21.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 11.10% of the company's stock.

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.