Royal Bank Of Canada Upgrades Danaher (NYSE:DHR) to Moderate Buy

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) was upgraded by equities researchers at Royal Bank Of Canada to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note issued on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on DHR. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Danaher in a report on Friday, March 27th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $205.00 target price on shares of Danaher in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Danaher in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $245.00 target price on shares of Danaher in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Danaher in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Danaher has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $238.65.

Danaher Stock Performance

Shares of DHR stock opened at $161.95 on Thursday. Danaher has a 12 month low of $160.93 and a 12 month high of $242.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.87 and a quick ratio of 1.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $114.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.81. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $186.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $210.38.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 20th. The conglomerate reported $2.06 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.12. Danaher had a net margin of 14.89% and a return on equity of 10.91%. The firm had revenue of $5.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.88 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Danaher will post 8.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Danaher

In related news, EVP Gregory M. Milosevich sold 1,320 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.01, for a total transaction of $274,573.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 10.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Danaher

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of DHR. Tyche Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Danaher during the third quarter valued at approximately $462,000. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG lifted its stake in Danaher by 25.4% during the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 366,481 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $83,895,000 after purchasing an additional 74,301 shares during the last quarter. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. lifted its stake in Danaher by 49.4% during the third quarter. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. now owns 25,340 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $5,024,000 after purchasing an additional 8,380 shares during the last quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its stake in Danaher by 2.9% during the third quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 664,705 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $131,784,000 after purchasing an additional 18,744 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Danaher by 4.6% during the third quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 513,288 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $100,071,000 after purchasing an additional 22,595 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.05% of the company’s stock.

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.