Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. Lowers Stake in Danaher Corporation $DHR

Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. lessened its holdings in Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) by 48.0% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 20,896 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 19,307 shares during the quarter. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A.’s holdings in Danaher were worth $3,962,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of DHR. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Danaher during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,177,106,000. Viking Global Investors LP grew its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 2,455,994 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Danaher by 104.7% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,333,056 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $991,923,000 after acquiring an additional 2,216,789 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Danaher by 11.2% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 15,076,796 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $3,451,380,000 after acquiring an additional 1,517,904 shares during the period. Finally, Capital International Investors raised its position in Danaher by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 18,246,008 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $4,177,386,000 after acquiring an additional 1,487,768 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.05% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Danaher from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Danaher from $265.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Danaher from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Monday. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Danaher from $251.00 to $249.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on Danaher in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $230.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Danaher currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $233.61.

Danaher Stock Performance

DHR opened at $197.85 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $140.03 billion, a PE ratio of 38.27, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.79. Danaher Corporation has a twelve month low of $160.93 and a twelve month high of $242.80. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $179.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $200.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 20th. The conglomerate reported $2.06 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.12. Danaher had a net margin of 14.89% and a return on equity of 10.91%. The company had revenue of $5.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.88 EPS. Danaher’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Danaher Corporation will post 8.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Investors of record on Friday, June 26th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 26th. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.95%.

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.