Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) Shares Sold by State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D cut its holdings in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR - Free Report) by 2.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 239,836 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 6,760 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D's holdings in Danaher were worth $55,054,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of DHR. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Danaher in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new position in Danaher in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Danaher in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in Danaher in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Danaher by 63.3% in the 4th quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC now owns 147 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. 79.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Danaher Stock Up 1.5 %

NYSE:DHR traded up $3.12 on Thursday, reaching $208.10. The stock had a trading volume of 4,712,380 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,525,009. 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 50-day moving average of $227.74 and a 200 day moving average of $247.80. The stock has a market cap of $150.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.83. Danaher Co. has a 12-month low of $196.80 and a 12-month high of $281.70.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 16.33% and a return on equity of 10.82%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.09 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Danaher Co. will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be given a $0.32 dividend. This is a boost from Danaher's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.62%. Danaher's dividend payout ratio is presently 20.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Danaher

In other news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 5,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 20,230 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,534,149.90. This trade represents a 21.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 11.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Danaher from $310.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $277.00 price objective (down from $299.00) on shares of Danaher in a report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Danaher from $309.00 to $305.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Danaher from $250.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on Danaher from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a 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.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.