First Financial Bankshares Inc Raises Stock Holdings in Danaher Corporation $DHR

First Financial Bankshares Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) by 152.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,299 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,026 shares during the quarter. First Financial Bankshares Inc’s holdings in Danaher were worth $2,637,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Tyche Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Danaher in the third quarter worth about $462,000. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Danaher by 1.6% during the 2nd 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 during the last quarter. Weitz Investment Management Inc. grew its position 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 worth $104,094,000 after acquiring an additional 30,300 shares in the last quarter. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. grew its position in shares of Danaher by 49.4% in the 3rd quarter. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. now owns 25,340 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $5,024,000 after acquiring an additional 8,380 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nvwm LLC raised 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 valued at $1,401,000 after acquiring an additional 1,204 shares in the last quarter. 79.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Danaher 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 value of $274,573.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 5,099 shares in the company, valued at $1,060,642.99. This represents a 20.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 11.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Danaher Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DHR opened at $210.90 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $148.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.91. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $226.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $216.12. Danaher Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $171.00 and a fifty-two week high of $242.80. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The conglomerate reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $6.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.79 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.14 EPS. Danaher’s revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Danaher Corporation will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

Danaher Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 30th. Investors of record on Friday, December 26th were paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 26th. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.40%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DHR has been the subject of a number of research reports. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Danaher in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Robert W. Baird set a $251.00 price target on shares of Danaher in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Argus set a $265.00 price objective on shares of Danaher in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Danaher in a report on Monday, December 1st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $270.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Danaher from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $253.86.

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.