Madison Asset Management LLC Invests $85.45 Million in Danaher Corporation $DHR

Madison Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 448,611 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $85,451,000. Danaher accounts for 1.0% of Madison Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position in Danaher by 303.7% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 248,020 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $56,777,000 after purchasing an additional 186,584 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in shares of Danaher by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,495,287 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,029,061,000 after buying an additional 43,169 shares during the period. Advisors Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Danaher by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 54,845 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $12,555,000 after buying an additional 6,720 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its stake in shares of Danaher by 10.9% during the second quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 289,223 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $55,091,000 after buying an additional 28,425 shares during the period. Finally, Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd increased its stake in shares of Danaher by 12.1% during the fourth quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 115,335 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $26,402,000 after buying an additional 12,416 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.05% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $240.00 price objective on shares of Danaher in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Danaher from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 25th. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Danaher from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Danaher from $270.00 to $255.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Danaher from $212.00 to $195.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $228.91.

Danaher Stock Up 6.2%

Shares of DHR stock opened at $211.92 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $194.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $192.44. Danaher Corporation has a 1-year low of $160.93 and a 1-year high of $242.80. The company has a market cap of $148.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.65 and a quick ratio of 1.25.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 20th. The conglomerate reported $1.94 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.09. Danaher had a return on equity of 11.04% and a net margin of 15.95%.The company had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.12 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.77 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Danaher Corporation will post 8.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.