Danaher Corporation $DHR Stock: Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. Reduces Position

Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. cut its position in Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) by 31.6% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 24,840 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 11,470 shares during the period. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Danaher were worth $5,503,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of DHR. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Danaher in the second quarter worth $10,492,520,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Danaher by 10.4% during the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 16,316,834 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,108,031,000 after purchasing an additional 1,542,310 shares during the period. Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new stake in Danaher in the second quarter valued at $1,456,317,000. Generation Investment Management LLP purchased a new stake in Danaher in the second quarter valued at $1,287,949,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in Danaher in the second quarter valued at $993,846,000. 79.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Danaher Trading Up 2.2%

Shares of Danaher stock opened at $235.21 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $220.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $201.57. The company has a market cap of $165.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.76. Danaher Corporation 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 0.45, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.63.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The conglomerate reported $2.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.92 by $0.19. Danaher had a net margin of 16.91% and a return on equity of 11.17%. The business had revenue of $6.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.56 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.89 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Danaher Corporation will post 8.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 30th were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DHR has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $240.00 price objective on shares of Danaher in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 price objective on shares of Danaher in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $275.00 target price on shares of Danaher in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded Danaher from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 16th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Danaher from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Danaher presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $242.91.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Danaher news, CAO Christopher Bouda sold 7,598 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.56, for a total transaction of $1,782,186.88. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 9,107 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,136,137.92. This represents a 45.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 10.80% of the company’s stock.

Danaher Profile

Danaher is a global science and technology company that develops and supplies products and services for biotechnology, life sciences, and diagnostics markets. Its offerings include instruments, reagents, consumables, software, and services used in research, drug development and manufacturing, and clinical testing.

The company’s businesses include well-known brands such as Cytiva and Pall in bioprocessing and filtration, Beckman Coulter in laboratory and clinical diagnostics, Cepheid in molecular diagnostics, and Leica Microsystems in microscopy.