Private Wealth Partners LLC Acquires 3,912 Shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

Private Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR - Free Report) by 4.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 98,780 shares of the conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 3,912 shares during the period. Danaher comprises approximately 1.7% of Private Wealth Partners LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Private Wealth Partners LLC's holdings in Danaher were worth $22,675,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Danaher during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Danaher during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Danaher in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America bought a new stake in Danaher in the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Danaher in the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. 79.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Danaher Price Performance

DHR traded up $2.98 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $210.93. The stock had a trading volume of 3,938,105 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,498,829. The company has a market cap of $152.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.83. The business has a fifty day moving average of $227.21 and a 200 day moving average of $247.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.40. 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 issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The conglomerate reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.14. Danaher had a return on equity of 10.82% and a net margin of 16.33%. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.09 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Danaher Co. will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.61%. This is a positive change from Danaher's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Danaher's dividend payout ratio is currently 20.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Danaher

In other Danaher news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 5,700 shares of the business'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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 20,230 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,534,149.90. The trade was a 21.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 11.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com cut Danaher from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, December 14th. Raymond James restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Danaher in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Wolfe Research upgraded Danaher from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $285.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Danaher from $310.00 to $300.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $277.00 price target (down from $299.00) on shares of Danaher in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $278.00.

Danaher 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.