Marshall Wace LLP Has $476.84 Million Stock Holdings in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

Marshall Wace LLP cut its position in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 34.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,908,492 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 1,012,670 shares during the period. Danaher accounts for approximately 0.6% of Marshall Wace LLP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Marshall Wace LLP owned about 0.26% of Danaher worth $476,837,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of Montreal Can grew its stake in shares of Danaher by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 806,470 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $211,432,000 after buying an additional 27,970 shares during the period. Evergreen Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Danaher by 16.2% during the 2nd quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 3,978 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $995,000 after purchasing an additional 554 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its stake in Danaher by 119.8% during the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 19,503 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,873,000 after purchasing an additional 10,628 shares during the last quarter. Harmony Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Danaher during the 2nd quarter valued at about $301,000. Finally, Certified Advisory Corp boosted its stake in Danaher by 4.5% during the 2nd quarter. Certified Advisory Corp now owns 926 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $231,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. 79.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Danaher Price Performance

Shares of DHR opened at $273.19 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $268.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $257.32. Danaher Co. has a fifty-two week low of $182.09 and a fifty-two week high of $281.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $202.35 billion, a PE ratio of 46.30, a PEG ratio of 4.48 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.43.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.15. Danaher had a net margin of 16.94% and a return on equity of 11.06%. The firm had revenue of $5.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.59 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.05 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Danaher Co. will post 7.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 25th. Investors of record on Friday, September 27th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 27th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.40%. Danaher’s payout ratio is 18.31%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on DHR. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Danaher from $271.00 to $278.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Danaher from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of Danaher in a report on Friday, September 6th. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Danaher in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $280.00 target price on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Danaher from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $278.94.

Insider Activity at Danaher

In other Danaher news, SVP Georgeann Couchara sold 952 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.37, for a total transaction of $255,488.24. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,212 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,130,374.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Danaher news, CEO Rainer Blair sold 9,007 shares of Danaher stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total transaction of $2,521,960.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 97,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,435,240. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Georgeann Couchara sold 952 shares of Danaher stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.37, for a total transaction of $255,488.24. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,212 shares in the company, valued at $1,130,374.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 39,659 shares of company stock valued at $11,042,433 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 11.10% of the company’s stock.

Danaher 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.