Danaher (NYSE:DHR) Stock Rating Upgraded by Barclays

Danaher (NYSE:DHR - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Barclays from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research note issued on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm presently has a $205.00 price target on the conglomerate's stock, down from their previous price target of $240.00. Barclays's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 8.35% from the stock's previous close.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on DHR. Raymond James reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Danaher in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of Danaher in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Danaher in a report on Monday, December 23rd. They set a "sector perform" rating and a $265.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Danaher from $285.00 to $260.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Danaher from $280.00 to $240.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $276.57.

Danaher Price Performance

Shares of DHR stock traded down $3.77 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $189.20. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,530,004 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,499,256. 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 firm's 50-day moving average is $203.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $229.00. Danaher has a 1-year low of $171.00 and a 1-year high of $281.70. The company has a market cap of $135.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.83, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.86.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The conglomerate reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates 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 previous year, the business earned $2.09 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Danaher will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 5,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 20,230 shares in the company, valued at $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 11.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Danaher

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of DHR. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 2,202 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC boosted its position in Danaher by 1,212.8% during the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 2,770 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $636,000 after purchasing an additional 2,559 shares during the last quarter. Generate Investment Management Ltd bought a new position in Danaher in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $8,044,000. Compass Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Danaher by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Compass Capital Management Inc. now owns 237,922 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $54,615,000 after purchasing an additional 10,994 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Channing Global Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Danaher by 42.8% during the 4th quarter. Channing Global Advisors LLC now owns 5,666 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $1,301,000 after purchasing an additional 1,698 shares in the last quarter. 79.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.