Mizuho Securities USA LLC Acquires 19,245 Shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its position in shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR - Free Report) by 46.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 60,925 shares of the conglomerate's stock after buying an additional 19,245 shares during the quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC's holdings in Danaher were worth $13,985,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Gilbert & Cook Inc. lifted its stake in Danaher by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 1,749 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $401,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. raised its position in shares of Danaher by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. now owns 7,390 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $1,696,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA grew its position in Danaher by 16.4% during the fourth 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. Howard Capital Management Group LLC increased its stake in Danaher by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 1,229 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $342,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Spinnaker Trust raised its holdings in shares of Danaher by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Spinnaker Trust now owns 4,304 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $988,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. 79.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Danaher Stock Down 1.1 %

DHR traded down $2.25 on Wednesday, hitting $210.15. The company had a trading volume of 2,669,221 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,016,049. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $216.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $237.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $150.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.82. Danaher Co. has a 52-week low of $196.80 and a 52-week high of $281.70.

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, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.14. Danaher had a return on equity of 10.82% and a net margin of 16.33%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.09 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Investors of record on Friday, March 28th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.61%. This is an increase from Danaher's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Danaher's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.24%.

Insider Activity at Danaher

In other Danaher news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 5,700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.13, for a total value of $1,277,541.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 20,230 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,534,149.90. The trade was a 21.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 11.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DHR has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Danaher from $277.00 to $268.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $277.00 target price (down previously from $299.00) on shares of Danaher in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Danaher from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Raymond James reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Danaher in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Scotiabank assumed coverage on Danaher in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. They issued a "sector perform" rating and a $265.00 target price for the company. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Danaher presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $278.24.

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.