Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) Position Boosted by Guinness Atkinson Asset Management Inc

Guinness Atkinson Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR - Free Report) by 4.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 26,611 shares of the conglomerate's stock after buying an additional 1,234 shares during the period. Danaher accounts for approximately 3.1% of Guinness Atkinson Asset Management Inc's holdings, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Guinness Atkinson Asset Management Inc's holdings in Danaher were worth $6,109,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new stake in Danaher in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new stake in shares of Danaher during the 3rd quarter worth $39,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Danaher in the 3rd quarter worth $40,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Danaher in the third quarter valued at $50,000. Finally, Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Danaher during the third quarter valued at about $55,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.05% of the company's stock.

Danaher Stock Performance

Shares of Danaher stock traded down $3.49 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $238.41. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,044,734 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,640,177. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.37. Danaher Co. has a one year low of $222.53 and a one year high of $281.70. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $234.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $253.51. The stock has a market cap of $172.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.23 and a beta of 0.83.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.71 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $5.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.59 billion. Danaher had a return on equity of 10.62% and a net margin of 16.39%. Danaher's quarterly revenue was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.02 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Danaher Co. will post 7.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 27th. Danaher's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on DHR. Scotiabank began coverage on Danaher in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. They issued a "sector perform" rating and a $265.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Danaher from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, December 14th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Danaher from $278.00 to $277.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Danaher from $275.00 to $278.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on Danaher from $310.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Danaher has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $286.80.

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.