Wells Fargo & Company Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Danaher (NYSE:DHR) Stock Price

Danaher (NYSE:DHR - Free Report) had its price target trimmed by Wells Fargo & Company from $280.00 to $240.00 in a research report report published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the conglomerate's stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on Danaher from $333.00 to $311.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Danaher from $310.00 to $300.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. StockNews.com downgraded Danaher from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, December 14th. Guggenheim began coverage on Danaher in a report on Thursday, December 19th. They set a "buy" rating and a $275.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on Danaher from $305.00 to $285.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Danaher currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $278.00.

Danaher Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE DHR traded down $0.52 on Thursday, hitting $222.56. The company had a trading volume of 4,785,829 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,684,308. The firm has a market capitalization of $160.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.15, a PEG ratio of 4.22 and a beta of 0.83. Danaher has a 12-month low of $221.34 and a 12-month high of $281.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The business has a 50 day moving average of $235.66 and a two-hundred day moving average of $253.24.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The conglomerate reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.14. Danaher had a return on equity of 10.72% and a net margin of 16.33%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.09 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Danaher will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th will be given a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 27th. Danaher's dividend payout ratio is currently 20.45%.

Insider Activity at Danaher

In related news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 5,700 shares of the firm'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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 20,230 shares in the company, valued at $4,534,149.90. This trade represents a 21.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 11.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Danaher

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its stake in Danaher by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 1,231 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $342,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Meridian Financial Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Danaher by 4.4% in the third quarter. Meridian Financial Partners LLC now owns 957 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $266,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Kovack Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Danaher by 3.4% in the third quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 1,243 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $346,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. Well Done LLC raised its holdings in shares of Danaher by 1.2% during the third quarter. Well Done LLC now owns 3,551 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $987,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Waypoint Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Danaher by 0.9% during the third quarter. Waypoint Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,520 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $1,257,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. 79.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.