47,377 Shares in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) Acquired by Generali Asset Management SPA SGR

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new stake in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 47,377 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $10,875,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Danaher in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Danaher in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Danaher during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new position in shares of Danaher during the third quarter worth $39,000. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Danaher in the third quarter worth $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.05% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Danaher

In related news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 5,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 20,230 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,534,149.90. This trade represents a 21.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 11.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on DHR shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Danaher from $280.00 to $240.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Danaher from $275.00 to $240.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com cut Danaher from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, December 14th. Raymond James reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Danaher in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Scotiabank initiated coverage on Danaher in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $265.00 target price for the company. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $277.76.

Danaher Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE DHR opened at $212.78 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The company has a market capitalization of $152.08 billion, a PE ratio of 40.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.82. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $219.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $240.07. Danaher Co. has a 12-month low of $196.80 and a 12-month 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 net margin of 16.33% and a return on equity of 10.82%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.09 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.60%. This is a boost from Danaher’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Danaher’s payout ratio is currently 24.24%.

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.