Merit Financial Group LLC Has $2.31 Million Position in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR - Free Report) by 14.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,050 shares of the conglomerate's stock after buying an additional 1,260 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in Danaher were worth $2,307,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. CNB Bank boosted its position in Danaher by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. CNB Bank now owns 3,777 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $867,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Avanza Fonder AB acquired a new position in Danaher during the fourth quarter worth $10,990,000. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC grew its position in Danaher by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 7,787 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $1,787,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC increased its stake in Danaher by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 8,211 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $1,885,000 after buying an additional 550 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Border to Coast Pensions Partnership Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Danaher by 13.1% during the 4th quarter. Border to Coast Pensions Partnership Ltd now owns 199,150 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $45,684,000 after buying an additional 23,123 shares during the last quarter. 79.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen upped their target price on Danaher from $310.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup cut their price objective on Danaher from $305.00 to $285.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Danaher in a report on Monday, December 23rd. They set a "sector perform" rating and a $265.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Danaher from $333.00 to $311.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Danaher from $278.00 to $277.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Danaher has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $286.80.

Danaher Stock Performance

Shares of DHR stock traded down $3.49 on Monday, hitting $238.41. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,044,734 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,640,177. Danaher Co. has a fifty-two week low of $222.53 and a fifty-two week high of $281.70. The company has a market capitalization of $172.20 billion, a PE ratio of 45.50, a PEG ratio of 4.23 and a beta of 0.83. The stock's 50 day moving average is $234.85 and its 200-day moving average is $253.51. 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 (NYSE:DHR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.14. Danaher had a net margin of 16.39% and a return on equity of 10.62%. The firm had revenue of $5.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.59 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.02 EPS. The business's revenue was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Danaher Co. will post 7.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Dividend Announcement

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

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.