Sunbelt Securities Inc. Reduces Position in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

Sunbelt Securities Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 16.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,354 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 659 shares during the quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc.’s holdings in Danaher were worth $838,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Danaher by 7.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 60,107,030 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $15,009,928,000 after acquiring an additional 4,163,657 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Danaher by 12.0% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 27,928,442 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $6,460,966,000 after purchasing an additional 2,998,161 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of Danaher by 10.7% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 16,757,558 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,876,694,000 after purchasing an additional 1,619,586 shares during the period. Capital International Investors raised its position in shares of Danaher by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 15,956,519 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,691,735,000 after purchasing an additional 1,334,781 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in Danaher by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,964,031 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,490,112,000 after acquiring an additional 139,989 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.05% of the company’s stock.

Danaher Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE DHR opened at $278.02 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $270.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $258.06. Danaher Co. has a 1-year low of $182.09 and a 1-year high of $281.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $205.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.55 and a beta of 0.83.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.15. The firm 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 company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.05 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Danaher Co. will post 7.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 25th. Investors of record on Friday, September 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 27th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.39%. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on DHR shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted 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 cut shares of Danaher from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. 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 research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Danaher from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Leerink Partners lifted their price target on shares of Danaher from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Danaher currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $278.94.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Georgeann Couchara sold 952 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 approximately $1,130,374.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CEO Rainer Blair sold 9,007 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total value 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Georgeann Couchara sold 952 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.37, for a total value of $255,488.24. Following the completion of 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 have sold a total of 39,659 shares of company stock worth $11,042,433 in the last ninety days. 11.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.