Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund Raises Stock Position in Danaher Corporation $DHR

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its holdings in Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) by 32.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 72,827 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,790 shares during the quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund’s holdings in Danaher were worth $14,439,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Danaher by 1.6% during the second quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC now owns 249,377 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $49,262,000 after buying an additional 3,862 shares in the last quarter. Chicago Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Danaher by 11.6% in the 2nd quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 13,332 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,634,000 after purchasing an additional 1,391 shares during the last quarter. Weitz Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Danaher by 6.1% in the 2nd quarter. Weitz Investment Management Inc. now owns 526,950 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $104,094,000 after purchasing an additional 30,300 shares in the last quarter. Nvwm LLC lifted its position in shares of Danaher by 20.4% during the 2nd quarter. Nvwm LLC now owns 7,093 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,401,000 after purchasing an additional 1,204 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. grew its stake in shares of Danaher by 1.9% during the second quarter. ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. now owns 322,924 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $63,787,000 after purchasing an additional 6,136 shares in the last quarter. 79.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 21,776 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.23, for a total transaction of $4,773,952.48. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 14,553 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,190,454.19. This trade represents a 59.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Georgeann Couchara sold 5,174 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.42, for a total transaction of $1,088,713.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 2,625 shares in the company, valued at $552,352.50. This represents a 66.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 30,248 shares of company stock valued at $6,609,663 over the last three months. 11.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DHR has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird set a $247.00 price target on Danaher in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. HSBC upped their price target on Danaher from $255.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 1st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Danaher from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 22nd. Rothschild Redb downgraded shares of Danaher from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Redburn Partners set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Danaher in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Twenty-one equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $249.92.

Danaher Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DHR opened at $238.28 on Friday. Danaher Corporation has a one year low of $171.00 and a one year high of $258.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $168.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.13, a PEG ratio of 4.18 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $225.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $210.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.52.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 20th. The conglomerate reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $6.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6 billion. Danaher had a return on equity of 10.92% and a net margin of 14.44%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.71 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Danaher Corporation will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

Danaher Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 26th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 26th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Danaher’s payout ratio is presently 26.39%.

Danaher Company Profile

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.