QRG Capital Management Inc. Sells 7,218 Shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

QRG Capital Management Inc. decreased its position in shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR - Free Report) by 6.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 108,263 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 7,218 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Danaher were worth $24,852,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. AMF Tjanstepension AB acquired a new stake in shares of Danaher in the third quarter worth $5,923,000. Howard Capital Management Group LLC grew its position in Danaher by 4.1% in the third 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 period. Integrated Advisors Network LLC increased its position in shares of Danaher by 4.4% during the third quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 14,133 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $3,929,000 after acquiring an additional 590 shares during the last quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. boosted its holdings in Danaher by 11.6% during the 3rd quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 2,900 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $806,000 after acquiring an additional 302 shares during the period. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Danaher by 5.2% in the third quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,369 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $1,630,000 after acquiring an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. 79.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $277.00 price objective (down previously from $299.00) on shares of Danaher in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Guggenheim assumed coverage on Danaher in a report on Thursday, December 19th. They set a "buy" rating and a $275.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays lowered their target price on Danaher from $275.00 to $240.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Danaher from $285.00 to $260.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Raymond James reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Danaher in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $278.00.

Danaher Price Performance

DHR traded down $2.16 on Monday, reaching $205.60. The company had a trading volume of 3,222,953 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,547,996. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The company has a market capitalization of $146.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.94, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a fifty day moving average of $224.58 and a 200-day moving average of $244.76. Danaher Co. has a one year low of $196.80 and a one year 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 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 period last year, the business posted $2.09 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This is an increase from Danaher's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.62%. Danaher's payout ratio is currently 24.24%.

Insider Activity at Danaher

In other Danaher news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 5,700 shares of the company'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 value of $1,277,541.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 20,230 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,534,149.90. This represents a 21.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 11.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.