Danaher (NYSE:DHR) Upgraded by The Goldman Sachs Group to "Buy" Rating

Danaher (NYSE:DHR - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday, MarketBeat reports. The firm presently has a $260.00 price target on the conglomerate's stock. The Goldman Sachs Group's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 22.43% from the stock's previous close.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Danaher from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, December 14th. Bank of America raised Danaher from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $290.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Guggenheim assumed coverage on Danaher in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. They set a "buy" rating and a $275.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Danaher from $285.00 to $260.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Danaher from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Danaher has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $278.24.

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Danaher Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of DHR stock traded down $0.44 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $212.36. 3,077,187 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,014,684. Danaher has a fifty-two week low of $196.80 and a fifty-two week high of $281.70. The stock's 50 day moving average is $216.41 and its 200-day moving average is $237.75. 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 cap of $151.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.82.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The conglomerate reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) 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 quarter last year, the company posted $2.09 EPS. Analysts predict that Danaher will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Danaher

In related news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 5,700 shares of the company's 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 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 represents a 21.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 11.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in DHR. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Danaher during the fourth quarter worth $2,130,740,000. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Danaher by 15.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,617,424 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $6,566,116,000 after acquiring an additional 3,217,631 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Danaher during the 4th quarter valued at about $391,172,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its holdings in shares of Danaher by 4,248.8% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 1,639,500 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $376,347,000 after purchasing an additional 1,601,800 shares during the period. Finally, Capital World Investors increased its position in Danaher by 32.7% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,361,183 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $1,460,215,000 after purchasing an additional 1,566,658 shares during the last quarter. 79.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.