Danaher Corporation $DHR Shares Sold by Aberdeen Group plc

Aberdeen Group plc trimmed its holdings in shares of Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) by 12.3% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,175,105 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 164,080 shares during the quarter. Aberdeen Group plc’s holdings in Danaher were worth $260,345,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DHR. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Danaher during the second quarter worth $10,492,520,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Danaher by 10.4% during the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 16,316,834 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,108,031,000 after purchasing an additional 1,542,310 shares during the last quarter. Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new stake in shares of Danaher during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,456,317,000. Generation Investment Management LLP acquired a new position in Danaher during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,287,949,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in Danaher in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $993,846,000. 79.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Danaher

In other Danaher news, EVP Gregory Milosevich sold 2,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.62, for a total value of $484,302.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 22,367 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,158,277.54. The trade was a 8.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Christopher Bouda sold 7,598 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.56, for a total transaction of $1,782,186.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 9,107 shares in the company, valued at $2,136,137.92. The trade was a 45.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 10.80% of the company’s stock.

Danaher Stock Performance

NYSE:DHR opened at $233.16 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $222.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $201.52. Danaher Corporation has a twelve month low of $160.93 and a twelve month high of $242.80. The stock has a market cap of $164.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.84, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 21st. The conglomerate reported $2.11 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.92 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $6.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.56 billion. Danaher had a return on equity of 11.17% and a net margin of 16.91%. Danaher’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.89 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Danaher Corporation will post 8.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Danaher’s payout ratio is presently 26.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DHR has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Danaher from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $275.00 price target on shares of Danaher in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Danaher from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 12th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Danaher from $255.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Danaher from $220.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $242.91.

About Danaher

Danaher is a global science and technology company that develops and supplies products and services for biotechnology, life sciences, and diagnostics markets. Its offerings include instruments, reagents, consumables, software, and services used in research, drug development and manufacturing, and clinical testing. The company’s businesses include well-known brands such as Cytiva and Pall in bioprocessing and filtration, Beckman Coulter in laboratory and clinical diagnostics, Cepheid in molecular diagnostics, and Leica Microsystems in microscopy.