Middleton & Co. Inc. MA Reduces Stake in Danaher Corporation $DHR

Middleton & Co. Inc. MA lowered its stake in shares of Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 69,336 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 2,887 shares during the period. Danaher accounts for 1.5% of Middleton & Co. Inc. MA’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Middleton & Co. Inc. MA’s holdings in Danaher were worth $13,747,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of DHR. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Danaher by 1.3% during the second 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. Geode Capital Management LLC raised 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 during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Danaher during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,979,503,000. Generation Investment Management LLP grew its stake in shares of Danaher by 56.2% during the 2nd quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP now owns 4,965,646 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $980,914,000 after acquiring an additional 1,787,522 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Danaher by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,822,442 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $952,625,000 after acquiring an additional 186,357 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.05% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Danaher

In other news, SVP Georgeann Couchara sold 5,174 shares of Danaher stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.42, for a total transaction of $1,088,713.08. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 2,625 shares in the company, valued at approximately $552,352.50. This trade represents a 66.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Teri List sold 3,298 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.50, for a total transaction of $746,997.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 20,762 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,702,593. This trade represents a 13.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 30,248 shares of company stock valued at $6,609,663. Company insiders own 11.20% of the company’s stock.

Danaher Price Performance

DHR stock opened at $234.11 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $229.17 and a 200-day moving average of $212.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $165.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.89. Danaher Corporation has a 12 month low of $171.00 and a 12 month high of $258.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last posted its earnings results on Monday, October 20th. The conglomerate reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.17. Danaher had a net margin of 14.44% and a return on equity of 10.92%. The business had revenue of $6.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.71 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Danaher Corporation will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 30th. Investors of record on Friday, December 26th will be given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 26th. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.39%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DHR has been the topic of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Danaher from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Danaher in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Danaher from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Argus set a $265.00 price objective on shares of Danaher in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Redburn Partners set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Danaher in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Twenty-one research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $251.87.

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.