Handelsbanken Fonder AB Sells 9,416 Shares of Danaher Corporation $DHR

Handelsbanken Fonder AB trimmed its stake in shares of Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 222,866 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 9,416 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Danaher were worth $44,185,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Tyche Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Danaher during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $462,000. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Danaher by 1.6% in the second quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC now owns 249,377 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $49,262,000 after acquiring an additional 3,862 shares during the period. Weitz Investment Management Inc. raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 30,300 shares during the period. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. lifted its stake in shares of Danaher by 49.4% during 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Nvwm LLC lifted its position in shares of Danaher by 20.4% during the second 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. Institutional investors own 79.05% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Danaher

In other news, EVP Gregory M. Milosevich sold 1,320 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.01, for a total value of $274,573.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 11.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Danaher Stock Performance

Shares of DHR stock opened at $210.28 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $225.33 and a 200 day moving average of $216.16. 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 current ratio of 1.87 and a quick ratio of 1.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $148.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.91.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 27th. The conglomerate reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14 by $0.09. Danaher had a return on equity of 10.81% and a net margin of 14.71%.The business had revenue of $6.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.79 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.14 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Danaher Corporation will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 27th. This is a positive change from Danaher’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.40%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Danaher from $270.00 to $265.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Danaher from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. HSBC lifted their price objective on shares of Danaher from $255.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Leerink Partners increased their target price on shares of Danaher from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Danaher from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 22nd. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued 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.

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.