Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. Purchases 5,362 Shares of Danaher Corporation $DHR

Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its position in shares of Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) by 3.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 182,598 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,362 shares during the quarter. Danaher accounts for 1.3% of Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Danaher were worth $36,279,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Danaher by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 60,769,587 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $12,004,424,000 after purchasing an additional 788,499 shares during the period. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in Danaher by 1.9% during the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 16,758,240 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $3,318,926,000 after buying an additional 312,951 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Danaher by 0.6% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,726,194 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,697,800,000 after buying an additional 81,670 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Danaher in the second quarter valued at $1,979,503,000. Finally, Generation Investment Management LLP grew its holdings in shares of Danaher by 34.0% during the third quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP now owns 6,654,666 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,319,354,000 after buying an additional 1,689,020 shares during the last quarter. 79.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on DHR. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Danaher in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $254.00 price target on shares of Danaher in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Danaher from $270.00 to $265.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Danaher from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $251.00 target price on Danaher in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $253.86.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Danaher news, EVP Gregory M. Milosevich sold 1,320 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.01, for a total value of $274,573.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 5,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,060,642.99. The trade was a 20.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 11.20% of the company’s stock.

Danaher Stock Up 1.7%

Danaher stock opened at $198.85 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 1.87. The stock has a market cap of $140.62 billion, a PE ratio of 39.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.93. Danaher Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $171.00 and a fifty-two week high of $242.80. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $221.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $215.95.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The conglomerate reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.14 by $0.09. Danaher had a net margin of 14.71% and a return on equity of 10.81%. The firm had revenue of $6.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.79 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.14 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Danaher Corporation will post 7.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 24th. Investors of record on Friday, March 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. This is an increase from Danaher’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 27th. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio is 25.40%.

Danaher Profile

Danaher Corporation (NYSE: DHR) is a global science and technology company that designs, manufactures and markets products and services for the life sciences, diagnostics, and environmental and applied markets. The company organizes its operations into business segments focused on Life Sciences, Diagnostics, and Environmental & Applied Solutions, supplying instruments, reagents, software and related services that support research, clinical testing, biopharmaceutical development, and industrial and environmental monitoring.

Products and services in Danaher’s portfolio include analytical and diagnostic instruments, laboratory consumables and reagents, digital and software solutions for workflow and data management, field and industrial monitoring equipment, and service and maintenance programs.