Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) Shares Sold by Northstar Asset Management Inc.

Northstar Asset Management Inc. decreased its position in shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR - Free Report) by 6.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 32,581 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 2,073 shares during the quarter. Danaher accounts for approximately 2.0% of Northstar Asset Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Northstar Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Danaher were worth $7,479,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. AMF Tjanstepension AB purchased a new stake in Danaher in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $5,923,000. Creative Planning lifted its stake in shares of Danaher by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 126,340 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $35,125,000 after purchasing an additional 3,749 shares during the period. Good Life Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Danaher during the third quarter worth $217,000. Howard Capital Management Group LLC grew its position in Danaher by 4.1% during the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 1,229 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $342,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Finally, Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Danaher by 9.7% in the third quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 8,425 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $2,342,000 after buying an additional 748 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.05% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DHR has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America raised shares of Danaher from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $290.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Danaher from $310.00 to $300.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Guggenheim started coverage on Danaher in a report on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $275.00 price objective on the stock. Scotiabank began coverage on Danaher in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. They set a "sector perform" rating and a $265.00 target price for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Danaher from $277.00 to $268.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $278.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Danaher Price Performance

Shares of Danaher stock traded up $1.91 on Friday, hitting $209.86. 6,209,935 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,574,762. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $226.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $247.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $151.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.83. Danaher Co. has a 1-year low of $196.80 and a 1-year high of $281.70.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The conglomerate reported $2.14 earnings per share 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 quarter last year, the company earned $2.09 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Danaher Co. will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. This is a boost from Danaher's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.61%. Danaher's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.