Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) Stock Position Lowered by Kentucky Retirement Systems

Kentucky Retirement Systems reduced its holdings in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR - Free Report) by 9.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 44,779 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 4,897 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems' holdings in Danaher were worth $12,449,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in Danaher during the first quarter valued at approximately $676,545,000. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Danaher by 99.0% during the 2nd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 1,358,706 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $339,473,000 after acquiring an additional 675,952 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in Danaher by 22.7% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,047,728 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $761,475,000 after purchasing an additional 563,546 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Danaher by 40,196.5% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 429,964 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $119,539,000 after purchasing an additional 428,897 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Castle Hook Partners LP purchased a new position in Danaher in the first quarter valued at about $98,913,000. 79.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Danaher Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DHR traded down $8.88 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $230.50. The company had a trading volume of 5,435,775 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,760,084. Danaher Co. has a 12 month low of $206.30 and a 12 month high of $281.70. The stock has a market cap of $166.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.99, a PEG ratio of 4.44 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $262.20 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $260.38.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.14. Danaher had a return on equity of 10.62% and a net margin of 16.39%. The company had revenue of $5.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.59 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.02 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Danaher Co. will post 7.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Danaher Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 27th were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 27th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.47%. Danaher's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on DHR shares. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Danaher from $333.00 to $311.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Danaher from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of Danaher from $278.00 to $277.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Danaher in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $280.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Raymond James lowered their target price on Danaher from $310.00 to $300.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $287.16.

Insider Transactions at Danaher

In related news, SVP Georgeann Couchara sold 952 shares of Danaher stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.37, for a total transaction of $255,488.24. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,212 shares in the company, valued at $1,130,374.44. The trade was a 18.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 11.10% of the company's stock.

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.