Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ Raises Position in Danaher Corporation $DHR

Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ lifted its holdings in Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) by 1.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 201,296 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,244 shares during the quarter. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ’s holdings in Danaher were worth $39,909,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DHR. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Danaher by 1.3% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 60,769,587 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $12,004,424,000 after acquiring an additional 788,499 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Danaher by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,726,194 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,697,800,000 after purchasing an additional 81,670 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Danaher during the second quarter worth $1,979,503,000. Generation Investment Management LLP increased its position in shares of 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. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Danaher by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,822,442 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $952,625,000 after acquiring an additional 186,357 shares during the last quarter. 79.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Danaher

In other news, EVP Gregory M. Milosevich sold 1,320 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.01, for a total transaction of $274,573.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 5,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,060,642.99. This represents a 20.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 11.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on DHR shares. Guggenheim boosted their price target on Danaher from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Danaher from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Danaher in a report on Monday, December 29th. Leerink Partners increased their price objective on shares of Danaher from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Danaher from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Danaher presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $253.86.

Danaher Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DHR opened at $209.56 on Friday. Danaher Corporation has a 1 year low of $171.00 and a 1 year high of $242.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 1.87. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $226.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $215.89. The company has a market capitalization of $148.02 billion, a PE ratio of 41.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.91.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 27th. The conglomerate reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14 by $0.09. Danaher had a net margin of 14.71% and a return on equity of 10.81%. The business had revenue of $6.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.79 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.14 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Danaher Corporation will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Danaher Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 26th were issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 26th. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.40%.

Danaher 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.