Zeno Equity Partners LLP Purchases 17,566 Shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

Zeno Equity Partners LLP increased its position in shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR - Free Report) by 11.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 173,865 shares of the conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 17,566 shares during the period. Danaher accounts for approximately 12.0% of Zeno Equity Partners LLP's portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Zeno Equity Partners LLP's holdings in Danaher were worth $39,946,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of DHR. Howard Capital Management Group LLC boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in Danaher in the third quarter valued at $1,941,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Danaher in the third quarter valued at $40,000. Pathstone Holdings LLC boosted its stake in Danaher by 0.7% in the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 112,444 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $31,263,000 after acquiring an additional 795 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Knuff & Co LLC boosted its stake in shares of Danaher by 0.8% during the third quarter. Knuff & Co LLC now owns 8,258 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $2,296,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.05% of the company's stock.

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Danaher Price Performance

Danaher stock traded up $1.38 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $211.63. The company had a trading volume of 6,383,342 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,016,750. Danaher Co. has a 1 year low of $196.80 and a 1 year high of $281.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The company has a market capitalization of $151.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.82. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $217.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $238.50.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The conglomerate reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.14. Danaher had a net margin of 16.33% and a return on equity of 10.82%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.09 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict 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 issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. This is a boost from Danaher's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.60%. Danaher's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.24%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Danaher

In other news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 5,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.13, for a total transaction of $1,277,541.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 20,230 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,534,149.90. This trade represents a 21.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 10.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on DHR. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Danaher from $280.00 to $240.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Raymond James reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Danaher in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Danaher from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Danaher from $277.00 to $268.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Danaher from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $260.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Danaher presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.