Middleton & Co. Inc. MA Has $13.75 Million Stock Position in Danaher Corporation $DHR

Middleton & Co. Inc. MA lowered its stake in Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) by 4.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 69,336 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 2,887 shares during the quarter. Danaher makes up approximately 1.5% of Middleton & Co. Inc. MA’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. Middleton & Co. Inc. MA’s holdings in Danaher were worth $13,747,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Danaher during the 2nd quarter worth $1,979,503,000. Viking Global Investors LP grew its holdings in Danaher by 543.9% during the 2nd quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 2,907,515 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $574,351,000 after acquiring an additional 2,455,994 shares during the last quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP increased its position in Danaher by 56.2% in the 2nd quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP now owns 4,965,646 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $980,914,000 after acquiring an additional 1,787,522 shares during the period. Primecap Management Co. CA raised its stake in shares of Danaher by 924.2% during the second quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 1,239,320 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $244,815,000 after acquiring an additional 1,118,318 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Danaher by 1.3% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 60,769,587 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $12,004,424,000 after purchasing an additional 788,499 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.05% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Danaher news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 21,776 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.23, for a total value 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 approximately $3,190,454.19. This represents a 59.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Teri List sold 3,298 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.50, for a total value of $746,997.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 20,762 shares in the company, valued at $4,702,593. The trade was a 13.71% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 30,248 shares of company stock worth $6,609,663. 11.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Danaher Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DHR opened at $234.11 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $165.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.27, a PEG ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.89. 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 Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $171.00 and a fifty-two week high of $258.23. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $229.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $212.44.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 20th. The conglomerate reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.17. Danaher had a net margin of 14.44% and a return on equity of 10.92%. The firm had revenue of $6.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.71 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Danaher Corporation will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 30th. Investors of record on Friday, December 26th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 26th. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.39%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on DHR shares. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Danaher in a research note on Monday, December 1st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $270.00 price target for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Danaher from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Evercore ISI restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Danaher in a report on Monday, January 5th. Guggenheim upped their price target on shares of Danaher from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $247.00 price target on Danaher in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Twenty-one analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $251.87.

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.