Danaher (NYSE:DHR) Stock Bumped Up to “Buy” by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Danaher (NYSE:DHR) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Danaher in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $250.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Danaher from $260.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Danaher from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Danaher from $230.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and set a $230.00 target price on shares of Danaher in a report on Monday, July 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Danaher has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $235.23.

Danaher Stock Performance

NYSE:DHR opened at $220.15 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $154.76 billion, a PE ratio of 39.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.76. Danaher has a fifty-two week low of $160.93 and a fifty-two week high of $242.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.65. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $211.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $194.62.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 20th. The conglomerate reported $1.94 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.12 billion. Danaher had a net margin of 15.95% and a return on equity of 11.04%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.77 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Danaher will post 8.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Danaher Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 30th. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.42%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Danaher

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Veery Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Danaher by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Veery Capital LLC now owns 1,581 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $350,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Studio Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Danaher by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC now owns 1,581 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $302,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd boosted its holdings in Danaher by 71.6% during the fourth quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 127 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. JDH Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Danaher by 4.5% during the first quarter. JDH Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,264 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $240,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OLD Second National Bank of Aurora grew its position in Danaher by 0.5% during the first quarter. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora now owns 12,114 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,297,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the period. 79.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Danaher

Danaher Corporation (NYSE: DHR) is a global science and technology company that develops and manufactures products, services and solutions for the life sciences, diagnostics and biotechnology industries. Its offerings help researchers, healthcare professionals and biopharmaceutical manufacturers discover, develop, produce and analyze medicines and other biological products.

The company operates through businesses that provide laboratory instruments, consumables, software and services, including technologies for cell analysis, genomics, protein research, bioprocessing and clinical diagnostics.