Rakuten Investment Management Inc. Grows Position in Danaher Corporation $DHR

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) by 1,824.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 83,636 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 79,289 shares during the quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Danaher were worth $19,289,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Danaher during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,177,106,000. Viking Global Investors LP raised its holdings in shares of Danaher by 543.9% during the 2nd quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 2,907,515 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $574,351,000 after buying an additional 2,455,994 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of Danaher by 104.7% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,333,056 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $991,923,000 after buying an additional 2,216,789 shares in the last quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP raised its holdings in shares of Danaher by 34.0% during the 3rd quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP now owns 6,654,666 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,319,354,000 after buying an additional 1,689,020 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors raised its holdings in shares of Danaher by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 18,246,008 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,177,386,000 after buying an additional 1,487,768 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.05% of the company’s stock.

Danaher Price Performance

DHR opened at $181.04 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $180.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $204.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.87 and a quick ratio of 1.52. Danaher Corporation has a 1 year low of $160.93 and a 1 year high of $242.80. The firm has a market cap of $128.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.02, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.81.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 20th. The conglomerate reported $2.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.12. Danaher had a return on equity of 10.91% and a net margin of 14.89%.The business had revenue of $5.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.88 EPS. Danaher’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Danaher Corporation will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Danaher Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Investors of record on Friday, June 26th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 26th. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on DHR shares. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Danaher from $245.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Danaher from $240.00 to $212.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 price objective on shares of Danaher in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Danaher from $275.00 to $245.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Danaher from $265.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $233.61.

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.