Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Lowers Holdings in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. decreased its position in shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 4.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,651 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 1,395 shares during the quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in Danaher were worth $7,158,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in DHR. Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new stake in Danaher during the second quarter worth $363,000. Caden Capital Partners LP lifted its stake in shares of Danaher by 12.4% during the 4th quarter. Caden Capital Partners LP now owns 139,068 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $32,172,000 after purchasing an additional 15,313 shares during the last quarter. JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd boosted its position in Danaher by 10.8% during the fourth quarter. JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd now owns 572,858 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $132,524,000 after purchasing an additional 55,908 shares in the last quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC purchased a new position in Danaher in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,614,000. Finally, Norden Group LLC bought a new position in Danaher in the first quarter worth about $4,151,000. 79.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Danaher

In other news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 9,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.16, for a total value of $2,641,536.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 20,230 shares in the company, valued at $5,566,486.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CFO Matthew Mcgrew sold 16,172 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.84, for a total value of $4,525,572.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 29,407 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,229,254.88. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 9,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.16, for a total transaction of $2,641,536.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 20,230 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,566,486.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 39,659 shares of company stock worth $11,042,433. Insiders own 11.10% of the company’s stock.

Danaher Trading Up 0.2 %

Danaher stock opened at $273.19 on Tuesday. Danaher Co. has a 52 week low of $182.09 and a 52 week high of $281.70. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $268.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $257.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company has a market capitalization of $202.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.48 and a beta of 0.83.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $5.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.59 billion. Danaher had a net margin of 16.94% and a return on equity of 11.06%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.05 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Danaher Co. will post 7.59 EPS for the current year.

Danaher Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Danaher from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Danaher from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Danaher from $266.00 to $260.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Bank of America increased their price objective on Danaher from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Leerink Partners boosted their target price on Danaher from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $278.94.

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.