Torray Investment Partners LLC Sells 1,287 Shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

Torray Investment Partners LLC cut its holdings in shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR - Free Report) by 6.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,634 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 1,287 shares during the quarter. Torray Investment Partners LLC's holdings in Danaher were worth $4,277,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Danaher during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Danaher during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Danaher during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America bought a new stake in shares of Danaher during the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Danaher during the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 79.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Danaher Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of DHR traded up $0.23 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $205.92. 5,652,379 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,574,931. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Danaher Co. has a 1-year low of $196.80 and a 1-year high of $281.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $147.17 billion, a PE ratio of 39.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.82. The business has a fifty day moving average of $223.61 and a 200-day moving average of $243.86.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The conglomerate reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting 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 quarter last year, the firm earned $2.09 EPS. Analysts expect that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The business 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 is a positive change 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 0.62%. Danaher's dividend payout ratio is presently 24.24%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on DHR shares. Bank of America upgraded Danaher from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $290.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $250.00 price objective on Danaher in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Danaher from $277.00 to $268.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Scotiabank began coverage on Danaher in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. They issued a "sector perform" rating and a $265.00 price target on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com cut Danaher from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, December 14th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Danaher has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $278.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Danaher news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 5,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 11.10% of the company's stock.

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.