T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. Sells 49,105 Shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. cut its holdings in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR - Free Report) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,770,517 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 49,105 shares during the period. Danaher accounts for approximately 1.1% of T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. owned 1.08% of Danaher worth $1,783,723,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Danaher during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Danaher in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Danaher during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Danaher during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Danaher by 63.3% during the fourth quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC now owns 147 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.05% of the company's stock.

Danaher Trading Up 3.8 %

DHR opened at $192.06 on Wednesday. Danaher Co. has a 1-year low of $171.00 and a 1-year high of $281.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $137.27 billion, a PE ratio of 36.38, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.86. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $201.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $225.77.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.26. Danaher had a net margin of 16.33% and a return on equity of 10.82%. The business had revenue of $5.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.58 billion. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The company 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 $0.32 dividend. This is a boost 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.67%. Danaher's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.24%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DHR has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Robert W. Baird set a $231.00 price target on shares of Danaher in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Danaher from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $260.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Raymond James reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Danaher in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $277.00 price target (down previously from $299.00) on shares of Danaher in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Danaher from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $260.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $271.55.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 5,700 shares of the 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 directly owns 20,230 shares in the company, valued at $4,534,149.90. This represents a 21.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 11.10% of the company's stock.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding DHR? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.