Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Raises Holdings in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR – Get Rating) by 3.4% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 73,619 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,427 shares during the quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Danaher were worth $21,595,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Dixon Hughes Goodman Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Danaher during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. RFG Advisory LLC increased its position in Danaher by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 5,888 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,937,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the period. Oak Family Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Danaher during the 4th quarter valued at $268,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. increased its position in Danaher by 103.6% during the 4th quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 285 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $94,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the period. Finally, TFC Financial Management increased its position in Danaher by 20.9% during the 4th quarter. TFC Financial Management now owns 1,158 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $381,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. 78.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Danaher Price Performance

DHR opened at $290.00 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a current ratio of 1.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $210.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.86. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $261.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $268.32. Danaher Co. has a 52-week low of $233.71 and a 52-week high of $333.96.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 21st. The conglomerate reported $2.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $7.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.29 billion. Danaher had a net margin of 20.61% and a return on equity of 18.57%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.46 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Danaher Co. will post 10.39 EPS for the current year.

Danaher Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 24th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.34%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 23rd. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Danaher

In other news, Director Walter G. Lohr sold 3,906 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $273.84, for a total value of $1,069,619.04. Following the transaction, the director now owns 12,115 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,317,571.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Joakim Weidemanis sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.13, for a total value of $3,253,560.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 74,398 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,171,529.74. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Walter G. Lohr sold 3,906 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $273.84, for a total transaction of $1,069,619.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 12,115 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,317,571.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 11.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on DHR. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Danaher from $290.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Friday, July 22nd. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Danaher from $297.00 to $323.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 28th. Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Danaher to $340.00 in a research report on Friday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Danaher from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $330.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Monday, April 25th. Finally, KeyCorp cut their price objective on shares of Danaher from $345.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $328.58.

Danaher Profile

(Get Rating)

Danaher Corporation designs, manufactures, and markets professional, medical, industrial, and commercial products and services worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Life Sciences, Diagnostics, and Environmental & Applied Solutions. The Life Sciences segment provides mass spectrometers; flow cytometry, genomics, lab automation, centrifugation, particle counting and characterization; microscopes; genomics consumables; and Gene and Cell Therapy.