Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $546.21 Million Stake in Danaher Corporation $DHR

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) by 1.6% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 2,880,858 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 47,548 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Danaher were worth $546,214,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Danaher by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,681,334 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $6,345,529,000 after buying an additional 472,608 shares during the period. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in shares of Danaher by 8.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 18,246,008 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,177,386,000 after purchasing an additional 1,487,768 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of Danaher by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 15,973,240 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $3,656,595,000 after purchasing an additional 1,334,221 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Danaher by 11.2% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 15,076,796 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,451,380,000 after purchasing an additional 1,517,904 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Danaher in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,177,106,000. 79.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Danaher Stock Up 0.7%

Danaher stock opened at $200.45 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Danaher Corporation has a 1-year low of $160.93 and a 1-year high of $242.80. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $181.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $199.06. The company has a market cap of $141.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.79.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 20th. The conglomerate reported $2.06 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $6 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.88 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Danaher Corporation will post 8.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Investors of record on Friday, June 26th will be issued 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, June 26th. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on DHR shares. Wolfe Research cut shares of Danaher from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Danaher from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. TD Cowen reduced their price target on Danaher from $245.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on Danaher from $265.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Danaher from $251.00 to $249.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $231.64.

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.