Xponance Inc. Acquires 1,328 Shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

Xponance Inc. raised its position in shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR - Free Report) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 96,394 shares of the conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 1,328 shares during the quarter. Xponance Inc.'s holdings in Danaher were worth $22,127,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in DHR. Howard Capital Management Group LLC increased its position in Danaher by 4.1% during the 3rd 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. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Danaher by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 15,870 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $4,412,000 after buying an additional 876 shares in the last quarter. Atlanta Consulting Group Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Danaher during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $267,000. Aljian Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Danaher during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $652,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Danaher during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,941,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.05% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 5,700 shares of Danaher 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 owns 20,230 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,534,149.90. This trade represents a 21.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 10.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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Danaher Stock Performance

Shares of Danaher stock traded up $1.38 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $211.63. 6,383,342 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,013,925. Danaher Co. has a 12-month low of $196.80 and a 12-month high of $281.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $151.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.08, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $217.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $238.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 1.05.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 posted $2.09 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.60%. This is a positive change from Danaher's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Danaher's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.24%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on DHR shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $277.00 price target (down from $299.00) on shares of Danaher in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Danaher from $285.00 to $260.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com cut Danaher from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, December 14th. Barclays cut their target price on Danaher from $275.00 to $240.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Danaher from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $260.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, March 14th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $278.24.

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.