Ceredex Value Advisors LLC Acquires 13,043 Shares of Danaher Corporation $DHR

Ceredex Value Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) by 5.2% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 262,420 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 13,043 shares during the quarter. Danaher makes up about 1.2% of Ceredex Value Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC’s holdings in Danaher were worth $52,027,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. WFA of San Diego LLC bought a new position in shares of Danaher during the second quarter valued at $26,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute acquired a new position in Danaher in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Danaher during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Danaher in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Tripletail Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Danaher during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.05% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Danaher Trading Up 1.7%

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

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The conglomerate reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $6.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.79 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.14 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Danaher Corporation will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on DHR shares. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Danaher in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $254.00 target price on shares of Danaher in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Danaher from $270.00 to $265.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 29th. HSBC upped their price objective 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 reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Danaher in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $253.86.

About Danaher

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.