Danaher Corporation $DHR Stock Sold by Welch & Forbes LLC

Welch & Forbes LLC decreased its holdings in Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 588,611 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 9,713 shares during the period. Danaher accounts for about 1.5% of Welch & Forbes LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings in Danaher were worth $130,407,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Danaher in the second quarter valued at approximately $10,492,520,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Danaher by 10.4% during the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 16,316,834 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $3,108,031,000 after purchasing an additional 1,542,310 shares during the period. Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new position in Danaher in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,456,317,000. Generation Investment Management LLP purchased a new position in Danaher in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,287,949,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in Danaher in the 2nd quarter valued at $993,846,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.05% of the company’s stock.

Danaher Trading Up 2.2%

Shares of DHR stock opened at $235.21 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $220.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $201.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $165.48 billion, a PE ratio of 38.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.29. Danaher Corporation has a 1-year low of $160.93 and a 1-year high of $242.80.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The conglomerate reported $2.11 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.92 by $0.19. Danaher had a return on equity of 11.17% and a net margin of 16.91%. The company had revenue of $6.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.89 earnings per share. Danaher’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Danaher Corporation will post 8.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Christopher Bouda sold 7,598 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.56, for a total value of $1,782,186.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 9,107 shares in the company, valued at $2,136,137.92. This trade represents a 45.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 10.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Danaher from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 12th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Danaher from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Danaher from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and set a $240.00 price target on shares of Danaher in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $275.00 price objective on shares of Danaher in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $242.91.

Danaher Company 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.