Avestar Capital LLC Raises Holdings in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

Avestar Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 5.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,017 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 207 shares during the quarter. Avestar Capital LLC’s holdings in Danaher were worth $922,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Danaher during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new position in Danaher during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Danaher during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Danaher in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Danaher by 63.3% in the 4th quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC now owns 147 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. 79.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Danaher Trading Up 0.7 %

NYSE DHR opened at $203.56 on Friday. Danaher Co. has a 12 month low of $196.80 and a 12 month high of $281.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $230.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $250.28. The stock has a market cap of $147.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.83.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The conglomerate reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.14. Danaher had a net margin of 16.33% and a return on equity of 10.82%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.09 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Danaher Co. will post 7.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 27th. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Danaher news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 5,700 shares of Danaher stock in a transaction on 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 11.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on DHR shares. Bank of America upgraded Danaher from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $290.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $315.00 price objective on shares of Danaher in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Raymond James reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Danaher in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Guggenheim assumed coverage on shares of Danaher in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $275.00 price target for the company. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on Danaher from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Danaher presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $278.00.

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.