Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) Position Reduced by Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund cut its stake in shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR - Free Report) by 10.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,031 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 2,231 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund's holdings in Danaher were worth $5,291,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Danaher during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new position in Danaher during the second quarter worth $25,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Danaher during the second quarter worth $51,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Danaher in the second quarter valued at $51,000. Finally, Western Pacific Wealth Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Danaher in the first quarter valued at $55,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.05% of the company's stock.

Danaher Trading Down 3.7 %

NYSE:DHR traded down $8.88 on Friday, hitting $230.50. 5,435,775 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,760,084. The stock has a market cap of $166.49 billion, a PE ratio of 43.99, a PEG ratio of 4.44 and a beta of 0.85. Danaher Co. has a fifty-two week low of $206.30 and a fifty-two week high of $281.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $262.20 and a 200-day moving average of $260.38.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.14. Danaher had a net margin of 16.39% and a return on equity of 10.62%. The firm had revenue of $5.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.59 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.02 EPS. The company's revenue was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Danaher Co. will post 7.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 25th. Investors of record on Friday, September 27th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 27th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.47%. Danaher's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.61%.

Insider Activity at Danaher

In other news, SVP Georgeann Couchara sold 952 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.37, for a total value of $255,488.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,212 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,130,374.44. This represents a 18.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 11.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DHR has been the topic of a number of research reports. Leerink Partners increased their price objective on shares of Danaher from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Danaher from $285.00 to $275.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Danaher in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $280.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com raised Danaher from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on Danaher from $309.00 to $305.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $287.16.

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.