Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) Receives $287.05 Average PT from Analysts

Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and fifteen have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $287.05.

A number of analysts recently weighed in on DHR shares. Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Danaher in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $265.00 target price on the stock. Guggenheim began coverage on shares of Danaher in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $275.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Danaher from $275.00 to $278.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on Danaher from $333.00 to $311.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on Danaher from $309.00 to $305.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd.

Danaher Price Performance

Danaher stock opened at $229.55 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $237.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $254.82. The firm has a market cap of $165.80 billion, a PE ratio of 43.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.33 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Danaher has a 52-week low of $222.53 and a 52-week high of $281.70.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.14. Danaher had a return on equity of 10.62% and a net margin of 16.39%. The firm had revenue of $5.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.59 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.02 earnings per share. Danaher’s revenue was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Danaher will post 7.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 27th will be issued a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 27th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.47%. Danaher’s payout ratio is 20.61%.

Institutional Trading of Danaher

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DHR. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its stake in shares of Danaher by 1.8% during the second quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 2,153 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $538,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lifted its stake in shares of Danaher by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 1,231 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $342,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Certified Advisory Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Danaher by 4.5% in the second quarter. Certified Advisory Corp now owns 926 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $231,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Meridian Financial Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Danaher by 4.4% during the third quarter. Meridian Financial Partners LLC now owns 957 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $266,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Kovack Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Danaher by 3.4% during the third quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 1,243 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $346,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. 79.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.