J.P. Marvel Investment Advisors LLC Sells 5,325 Shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

J.P. Marvel Investment Advisors LLC decreased its position in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR - Free Report) by 15.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,855 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 5,325 shares during the quarter. Danaher accounts for approximately 1.1% of J.P. Marvel Investment Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 26th largest position. J.P. Marvel Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Danaher were worth $6,624,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in DHR. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Danaher in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new position in Danaher in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Danaher during 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 approximately $39,000. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Danaher in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. 79.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Danaher Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of Danaher stock traded up $0.70 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $205.23. 4,572,680 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,519,168. Danaher Co. has a fifty-two week low of $196.80 and a fifty-two week high of $281.70. The stock has a market cap of $148.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 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. The company has a 50 day moving average of $228.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $248.10.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR - Get Free Report) last issued 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 net margin of 16.33% and a return on equity of 10.82%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.09 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Danaher Co. will post 7.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 27th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 27th. Danaher's payout ratio is 20.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Danaher news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 5,700 shares of the business'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 transaction of $1,277,541.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 20,230 shares in the company, valued at $4,534,149.90. The trade was a 21.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 10.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DHR has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Danaher from $285.00 to $260.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Danaher from $309.00 to $305.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Danaher from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $285.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $315.00 price target on shares of Danaher in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Scotiabank began coverage on Danaher in a report on Monday, December 23rd. They issued a "sector perform" rating and a $265.00 price objective for the company. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $278.00.

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.