BlueSpruce Investments LP Sells 1,207,762 Shares of Danaher Corporation $DHR

BlueSpruce Investments LP trimmed its holdings in Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) by 57.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 908,063 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 1,207,762 shares during the period. Danaher comprises about 4.1% of BlueSpruce Investments LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. BlueSpruce Investments LP owned about 0.13% of Danaher worth $180,033,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Danaher during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,979,503,000. Viking Global Investors LP grew its position in shares of Danaher by 543.9% in the 2nd quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 2,907,515 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $574,351,000 after purchasing an additional 2,455,994 shares during the period. Generation Investment Management LLP increased its stake in Danaher by 34.0% during the 3rd quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP now owns 6,654,666 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,319,354,000 after purchasing an additional 1,689,020 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Danaher by 211.7% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,088,089 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $414,038,000 after buying an additional 1,418,243 shares during the period. Finally, Primecap Management Co. CA raised its holdings in Danaher by 924.2% during the 2nd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 1,239,320 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $244,815,000 after buying an additional 1,118,318 shares during the period. 79.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Danaher

In related news, EVP Gregory M. Milosevich sold 1,320 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.01, for a total transaction of $274,573.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 5,099 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,060,642.99. The trade was a 20.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 11.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Danaher from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 22nd. Argus set a $265.00 price objective on shares of Danaher in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Danaher in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. HSBC increased their target price on Danaher from $255.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Danaher in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $253.55.

Danaher Stock Performance

DHR opened at $187.34 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $218.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $215.41. Danaher Corporation has a 52-week low of $171.00 and a 52-week high of $242.80. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $132.47 billion, a PE ratio of 37.17, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.93.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The conglomerate reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $6.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.79 billion. Danaher had a return on equity of 10.81% and a net margin of 14.71%.The business’s revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.14 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Danaher Corporation will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 24th. Investors of record on Friday, March 27th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This is a boost from Danaher’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 27th. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.40%.

Danaher Company 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.