Erste Asset Management GmbH Sells 65,111 Shares of Danaher Corporation $DHR

Erste Asset Management GmbH decreased its holdings in shares of Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) by 79.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 16,913 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 65,111 shares during the quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH’s holdings in Danaher were worth $3,186,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of DHR. Tyche Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Danaher during the 3rd quarter worth about $462,000. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Danaher by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC now owns 249,377 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $49,262,000 after buying an additional 3,862 shares in the last quarter. Weitz Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Danaher by 6.1% in the second quarter. Weitz Investment Management Inc. now owns 526,950 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $104,094,000 after buying an additional 30,300 shares in the last quarter. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. lifted its position in Danaher by 49.4% during the third quarter. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. now owns 25,340 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $5,024,000 after buying an additional 8,380 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nvwm LLC lifted its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.05% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DHR has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Danaher in a report on Monday, December 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Danaher from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Danaher from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Wall Street Zen raised Danaher from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 22nd. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their target price on shares of Danaher from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 2nd. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $253.86.

Insider Activity

In other Danaher news, EVP Gregory M. Milosevich sold 1,320 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly 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 SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 11.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Danaher Price Performance

Shares of DHR stock opened at $210.28 on Friday. Danaher Corporation has a 1 year low of $171.00 and a 1 year high of $242.80. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $225.33 and its 200-day moving average is $216.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $148.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.72, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.91.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $6.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.79 billion. Danaher had a net margin of 14.71% and a return on equity of 10.81%. Danaher’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.14 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Danaher Corporation will post 7.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

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

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.