MML Investors Services LLC Has $21.01 Million Stake in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

MML Investors Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR - Free Report) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 91,504 shares of the conglomerate's stock after acquiring an additional 1,984 shares during the quarter. MML Investors Services LLC's holdings in Danaher were worth $21,005,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund increased its position in Danaher by 11.6% in the 4th quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 21,233 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $4,874,000 after acquiring an additional 2,202 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Danaher by 1,212.8% in the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 2,770 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $636,000 after acquiring an additional 2,559 shares during the period. Generate Investment Management Ltd acquired a new stake in Danaher in the fourth quarter worth $8,044,000. Compass Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Danaher by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Compass Capital Management Inc. now owns 237,922 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $54,615,000 after buying an additional 10,994 shares during the period. Finally, Channing Global Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Danaher by 42.8% during the fourth quarter. Channing Global Advisors LLC now owns 5,666 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $1,301,000 after acquiring an additional 1,698 shares in the last quarter. 79.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 5,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 20,230 shares in the company, valued at $4,534,149.90. This represents a 21.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 11.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Danaher Price Performance

Shares of DHR traded up $0.87 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $197.37. The stock had a trading volume of 2,608,666 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,350,769. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $141.06 billion, a PE ratio of 37.38, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.86. Danaher Co. has a 12 month low of $171.00 and a 12 month high of $281.70. The company's 50-day moving average is $201.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $225.07.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.26. Danaher had a net margin of 16.33% and a return on equity of 10.82%. The business had revenue of $5.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.58 billion. Research analysts expect that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Investors of record on Friday, March 28th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.65%. This is an increase from Danaher's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. Danaher's dividend payout ratio is presently 24.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DHR has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays raised their price target on Danaher from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Danaher from $260.00 to $240.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Danaher from $231.00 to $225.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Danaher from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $260.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Danaher in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $264.40.

Danaher Company Profile

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.