Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) Shares Sold by Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC

Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 14.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,639 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 285 shares during the period. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Danaher were worth $376,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Howard Capital Management Group LLC grew its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. lifted its stake in Danaher by 3.8% in the third quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 1,646 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $458,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd grew its holdings in Danaher by 544.6% during the 3rd quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 954 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $265,000 after acquiring an additional 806 shares in the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Danaher in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $110,000. Finally, Qsemble Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Danaher in the 3rd quarter valued at $555,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.05% of the company’s stock.

Danaher Trading Down 1.1 %

NYSE:DHR opened at $210.15 on Thursday. 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 firm has a market cap of $150.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.80, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.82. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $215.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $237.56. Danaher Co. has a 12-month low of $196.80 and a 12-month high of $281.70.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The conglomerate reported $2.14 earnings per share 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 in the prior year, the business earned $2.09 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on DHR shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated 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. StockNews.com cut Danaher from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 14th. Guggenheim started coverage on Danaher in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $275.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Danaher from $285.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Danaher from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Danaher presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $278.24.

Insider Activity

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 owns 20,230 shares of the company’s stock, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 11.10% of the company’s stock.

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.