Primecap Management Co. CA Lowers Stake in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

Primecap Management Co. CA lowered its stake in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR - Free Report) by 61.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,402 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 19,535 shares during the period. Primecap Management Co. CA's holdings in Danaher were worth $2,847,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Gilbert & Cook Inc. raised its position in Danaher by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 1,749 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $401,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. increased its stake in shares of Danaher by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. now owns 7,390 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $1,696,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA raised its holdings in Danaher by 16.4% during 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 in the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC lifted its position in Danaher by 4.1% in the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 1,229 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $342,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Finally, Spinnaker Trust boosted its holdings in Danaher by 1.2% in 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.05% of the company's stock.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 5,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.13, for a total transaction of $1,277,541.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 20,230 shares in the company, valued at $4,534,149.90. This represents a 21.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 11.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Danaher Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE DHR traded up $1.61 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $212.97. 3,615,085 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,019,141. 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 has a market capitalization of $152.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.82. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $217.46 and a 200-day moving average price of $238.50. Danaher Co. has a 52-week low of $196.80 and a 52-week high of $281.70.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The conglomerate reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate 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. Equities research 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. Investors of record on Friday, March 28th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. This is an increase from Danaher's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.60%. Danaher's dividend payout ratio is 24.24%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DHR has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays cut their target price on Danaher from $275.00 to $240.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Guggenheim assumed coverage on Danaher in a report on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $275.00 target price for the company. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Danaher from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $260.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Danaher from $277.00 to $268.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $277.00 target price (down from $299.00) on shares of Danaher in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Danaher currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $278.24.

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.