HBK Sorce Advisory LLC Has $704,000 Stock Position in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

HBK Sorce Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 5.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,066 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the period. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC’s holdings in Danaher were worth $704,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in DHR. Howard Capital Management Group LLC grew its stake in Danaher by 4.1% during the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 1,229 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $342,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Harbour Investments Inc. grew its stake in Danaher by 3.0% during the third quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 1,531 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $426,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Empower Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in Danaher by 2.1% during the third quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 2,558 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $711,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. Kovack Advisors Inc. grew its stake 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 during the period. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in Danaher by 3.1% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 204,363 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $56,780,000 after acquiring an additional 6,086 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.05% of the company’s stock.

Danaher Stock Performance

Shares of DHR opened at $211.09 on Friday. 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 has a market capitalization of $150.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.98, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.82. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $220.07 and a 200 day moving average of $240.82. Danaher Co. has a 12 month low of $196.80 and a 12 month high of $281.70.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The conglomerate reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting 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 in the prior year, the company earned $2.09 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be given a $0.32 dividend. This is an increase from Danaher’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.61%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.24%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Danaher news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 5,700 shares of the firm’s 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 directly owns 20,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,534,149.90. This trade represents a 21.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 11.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on DHR shares. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Danaher from $285.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Robert W. Baird cut 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. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $277.00 price target (down previously from $299.00) on shares of Danaher in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Scotiabank started coverage on Danaher in a report on Monday, December 23rd. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $265.00 price target on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Danaher from $310.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $277.76.

Danaher Company 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.