Tower Research Capital LLC TRC Buys 9,295 Shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR - Free Report) by 48.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 28,585 shares of the conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 9,295 shares during the quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC's holdings in Danaher were worth $6,562,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Howard Capital Management Group LLC lifted 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 valued at $342,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Tudor Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Danaher during the third quarter worth about $414,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Danaher by 1.3% during the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 6,039 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $1,679,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Danaher by 5.3% in the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 12,948 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $3,600,000 after purchasing an additional 648 shares during the period. Finally, Arvest Bank Trust Division purchased a new position in shares of Danaher during the 3rd quarter worth about $254,000. 79.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on DHR shares. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Danaher from $260.00 to $240.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Danaher in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Danaher in a report on Monday, April 7th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Danaher from $280.00 to $240.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Danaher from $275.00 to $240.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given 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 target price of $264.40.

Danaher Price Performance

Danaher stock traded up $0.87 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $197.37. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,608,658 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,350,769. Danaher Co. has a 12 month low of $171.00 and a 12 month high of $281.70. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $201.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $225.07. The company has a market capitalization of $141.06 billion, a PE ratio of 37.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $5.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.58 billion. Danaher had a return on equity of 10.82% and a net margin of 16.33%. Analysts anticipate that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. This is a boost from Danaher's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Danaher's payout ratio is 24.85%.

Insider Activity at Danaher

In related news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 5,700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 20,230 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,534,149.90. The trade was a 21.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 11.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Danaher Company 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.