Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) Stock Holdings Lifted by ING Groep NV

ING Groep NV boosted its holdings in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR - Free Report) by 59.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 137,402 shares of the conglomerate's stock after acquiring an additional 51,438 shares during the period. ING Groep NV's holdings in Danaher were worth $31,541,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Kovack Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Danaher by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 1,243 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $346,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. increased its stake in shares of Danaher by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 1,749 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $401,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Grimes & Company Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Danaher by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. now owns 7,390 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $1,696,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its position in shares of Danaher by 3.0% during the third quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 1,531 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $426,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. Finally, Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA grew its holdings in Danaher by 16.4% in the 4th quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 320 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $73,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. 79.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Danaher Trading Up 0.9 %

DHR stock traded up $1.91 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $209.86. 6,209,935 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,574,762. Danaher Co. has a 52-week low of $196.80 and a 52-week high of $281.70. The stock's fifty day moving average is $227.21 and its 200-day moving average is $247.52. The company has a market cap of $151.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The conglomerate reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.14. Danaher had a net margin of 16.33% and a return on equity of 10.82%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.09 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Danaher Co. will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This is an increase from Danaher's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.61%. Danaher's payout ratio is currently 20.45%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on DHR. Scotiabank began coverage on Danaher in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. They set a "sector perform" rating and a $265.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Danaher from $310.00 to $300.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Danaher from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Guggenheim started coverage on shares of Danaher in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. They set a "buy" rating and a $275.00 price target on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Danaher from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, December 14th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $278.00.

Insider Activity at Danaher

In other Danaher news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 5,700 shares of Danaher stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was 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 owns 20,230 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,534,149.90. The trade was a 21.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 11.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.