Northeast Investment Management Trims Holdings in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

Northeast Investment Management decreased its stake in shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR - Free Report) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 175,215 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 2,281 shares during the period. Danaher comprises about 1.8% of Northeast Investment Management's investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Northeast Investment Management's holdings in Danaher were worth $40,221,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its position in Danaher by 3.2% during the third quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 1,231 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $342,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Meridian Financial Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Danaher by 4.4% in the third quarter. Meridian Financial Partners LLC now owns 957 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $266,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Danaher by 3.4% in the third quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 1,243 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $346,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Well Done LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Danaher by 1.2% in the third quarter. Well Done LLC now owns 3,551 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $987,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Waypoint Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Danaher by 0.9% in the third quarter. Waypoint Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,520 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $1,257,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.05% of the company's stock.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In other 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 transaction of $1,277,541.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 20,230 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,534,149.90. This represents a 21.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 11.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on DHR. Wolfe Research raised shares of Danaher from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $285.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Danaher from $285.00 to $260.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Danaher from $275.00 to $240.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Guggenheim initiated coverage on shares of Danaher in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $275.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $277.00 target price (down from $299.00) on shares of Danaher in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $278.00.

Danaher Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of DHR traded up $0.60 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $202.22. The company had a trading volume of 7,207,744 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,373,626. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $231.17 and a 200-day moving average price of $250.62. 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 $146.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.83. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The conglomerate reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting 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 quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.09 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Danaher Co. will post 7.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th were issued a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 27th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. Danaher's dividend payout ratio is presently 20.45%.

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.