Royal Bank Of Canada Upgrades Danaher (NYSE:DHR) to Moderate Buy

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) was upgraded by Royal Bank Of Canada to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on DHR. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Danaher from $240.00 to $212.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Danaher from $275.00 to $245.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Danaher from $251.00 to $249.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Danaher in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Evercore upped their price target on shares of Danaher from $225.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Danaher presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $238.65.

Danaher Stock Down 1.6%

DHR stock opened at $161.95 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.87 and a quick ratio of 1.52. The firm has a market cap of $114.62 billion, a PE ratio of 31.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.81. Danaher has a 12 month low of $160.93 and a 12 month high of $242.80. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $186.30 and a 200 day simple moving average of $210.38.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 20th. The conglomerate reported $2.06 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $5.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6 billion. Danaher had a net margin of 14.89% and a return on equity of 10.91%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.88 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Danaher will post 8.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 5,099 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,060,642.99. This represents a 20.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 10.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Danaher by 6.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,009 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $397,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in Danaher by 34.5% in the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 55,418 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $10,947,000 after buying an additional 14,217 shares during the last quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC grew its stake in Danaher by 40.2% in the 2nd quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 3,088 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $610,000 after buying an additional 886 shares during the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC grew its stake in Danaher by 64.2% in the 2nd quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 75,714 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $14,957,000 after buying an additional 29,592 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HUB Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in Danaher by 30.7% in the 2nd quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,383 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $273,000 after buying an additional 325 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.05% of the company’s stock.

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.