Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) Stake Boosted by Lake Street Advisors Group LLC

Lake Street Advisors Group LLC increased its stake in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 5,967 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the period. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC’s holdings in Danaher were worth $1,371,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in DHR. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund lifted its stake in Danaher by 11.6% in the fourth quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 21,233 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,874,000 after buying an additional 2,202 shares during the last quarter. Fort Pitt Capital Group LLC increased its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 7,421 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC lifted its position in Danaher by 1,212.8% in the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 2,770 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $636,000 after purchasing an additional 2,559 shares during the last quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 2,465 shares during the period. Finally, Generate Investment Management Ltd bought a new position in Danaher in the 4th quarter worth about $8,044,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.05% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Danaher

In other Danaher news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 5,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.13, for a total transaction of $1,277,541.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 20,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,534,149.90. The trade was a 21.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 11.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Danaher Stock Performance

DHR opened at $209.27 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $225.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $245.78. The firm has a market cap of $149.57 billion, a PE ratio of 39.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Danaher Co. has a fifty-two week low of $196.80 and a fifty-two week high of $281.70.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The conglomerate reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14. Danaher had a return on equity of 10.82% and a net margin of 16.33%. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.09 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on DHR shares. StockNews.com downgraded Danaher from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 14th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Danaher from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Danaher from $277.00 to $268.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Danaher in a report on Monday, December 23rd. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $265.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $277.00 target price (down previously from $299.00) on shares of Danaher in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Danaher presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $278.00.

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.