Gulf International Bank UK Ltd Has $12.09 Million Position in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

Gulf International Bank UK Ltd reduced its holdings in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 2.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 52,671 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 1,561 shares during the quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd’s holdings in Danaher were worth $12,090,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund lifted its stake in shares of Danaher by 11.6% during the 4th quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 21,233 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $4,874,000 after buying an additional 2,202 shares during the last quarter. Fort Pitt Capital Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Danaher by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Fort Pitt Capital Group LLC now owns 238,092 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $66,194,000 after purchasing an additional 7,421 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Danaher by 1,212.8% during the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 2,770 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $636,000 after acquiring an additional 2,559 shares during the period. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Danaher by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. now owns 202,263 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $56,233,000 after acquiring an additional 2,465 shares during the period. Finally, Generate Investment Management Ltd acquired a new position in Danaher during the fourth quarter worth $8,044,000. Institutional investors own 79.05% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 5,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.13, for a total value of $1,277,541.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 20,230 shares in the company, valued at $4,534,149.90. This represents a 21.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 11.10% of the company’s stock.

Danaher Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DHR opened at $209.27 on Thursday. 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 company’s 50-day moving average price is $225.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $245.78. Danaher Co. has a 52 week low of $196.80 and a 52 week high of $281.70. The stock has a market cap of $149.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.63, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.83.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 period last year, the firm earned $2.09 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Investors of record on Friday, March 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.61%. This is a positive change from Danaher’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.24%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Danaher from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $285.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Bank of America upgraded shares of Danaher from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $290.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Raymond James reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Danaher in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Danaher from $280.00 to $240.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on Danaher from $275.00 to $240.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Danaher currently has a consensus 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.