Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Buys Shares of 32,100 Danaher Corporation $DHR

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 32,100 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $6,086,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG raised its holdings in Danaher by 25.4% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 366,481 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $83,895,000 after buying an additional 74,301 shares during the period. Maxi Investments CY Ltd purchased a new position in Danaher during the third quarter worth about $3,251,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in Danaher by 303.7% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 248,020 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $56,777,000 after buying an additional 186,584 shares during the period. Defender Capital LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Danaher during the fourth quarter valued at about $35,715,000. Finally, CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Danaher in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $17,480,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.05% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DHR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on shares of Danaher in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $200.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Danaher in a research note on Friday, March 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Danaher from $275.00 to $245.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Danaher from $240.00 to $212.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Danaher from $270.00 to $255.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $233.61.

Danaher Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DHR opened at $195.67 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $178.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $201.69. 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 company has a market cap of $138.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.81.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 20th. The conglomerate reported $2.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.88 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Danaher Corporation will post 8.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Investors of record on Friday, June 26th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 26th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Danaher’s payout ratio is currently 30.95%.

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.