SVB Wealth LLC Makes New Investment in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 48,801 shares of the conglomerate's stock, valued at approximately $11,202,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DHR. Milestones Administradora de Recursos Ltda. boosted its position in Danaher by 133.3% during the fourth quarter. Milestones Administradora de Recursos Ltda. now owns 3,500 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $803,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. Tufton Capital Management lifted its holdings in shares of Danaher by 34.8% during the 4th quarter. Tufton Capital Management now owns 15,876 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $3,644,000 after buying an additional 4,098 shares during the last quarter. Davis Rea LTD. grew its stake in shares of Danaher by 156.3% in the 4th quarter. Davis Rea LTD. now owns 41,428 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $9,521,000 after buying an additional 25,261 shares in the last quarter. Bouchey Financial Group Ltd increased its holdings in Danaher by 60.4% in the fourth quarter. Bouchey Financial Group Ltd now owns 1,290 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $296,000 after buying an additional 486 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Security Advisor Inc. lifted its stake in Danaher by 27.4% in the fourth quarter. Financial Security Advisor Inc. now owns 4,207 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $966,000 after acquiring an additional 905 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.05% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on DHR. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Danaher from $285.00 to $260.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com downgraded Danaher from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, December 14th. Bank of America upgraded Danaher from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $290.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Danaher from $280.00 to $240.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $278.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Danaher

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 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 directly owns 20,230 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,534,149.90. This represents a 21.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 11.10% of the company's stock.

Danaher Price Performance

NYSE:DHR traded up $0.36 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $206.05. The company had a trading volume of 4,337,017 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,537,134. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average of $224.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $244.31. Danaher Co. has a one year low of $196.80 and a one year high of $281.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $147.27 billion, a PE ratio of 39.03, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.82.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The conglomerate reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.14. Danaher had a net margin of 16.33% and a return on equity of 10.82%. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.09 EPS. Analysts forecast 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. Investors of record on Friday, March 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.62%. This is a boost from Danaher's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. Danaher's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.24%.

About Danaher

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.