3,014 Shares in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) Bought by CoreFirst Bank & Trust

CoreFirst Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 3,014 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $692,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Danaher by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 59,750,122 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $13,715,641,000 after purchasing an additional 315,912 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Danaher by 15.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,617,424 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $6,566,116,000 after buying an additional 3,217,631 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Danaher by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,589,019 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,971,609,000 after buying an additional 441,012 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of Danaher by 3.0% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,097,986 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,417,342,000 after acquiring an additional 148,251 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Danaher by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 4,578,945 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,051,097,000 after acquiring an additional 26,305 shares during the period. 79.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Danaher Stock Performance

NYSE DHR opened at $212.97 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $216.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $238.13. The firm has a market cap of $152.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.33, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 1.05. Danaher Co. has a 1 year low of $196.80 and a 1 year high of $281.70.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 business posted $2.09 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. This is an increase from Danaher’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio is 24.24%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 5,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 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 filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 11.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on DHR. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Danaher from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 14th. Bank of America raised shares of Danaher from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $290.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Danaher from $310.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Danaher from $285.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on Danaher from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $278.24.

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.