Danaher (NYSE:DHR) Sets New 52-Week Low – Here’s Why

Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $210.04 and last traded at $215.05, with a volume of 7520402 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $214.26.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Raymond James reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Danaher in a report on Monday. Guggenheim began coverage on shares of Danaher in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $275.00 price target on the stock. Wolfe Research raised Danaher from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $285.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Danaher from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 14th. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of Danaher from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $290.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $278.00.

Danaher Stock Down 1.0 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The firm has a market cap of $151.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.76, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.83. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $233.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $252.39.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The conglomerate reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14. Danaher had a net margin of 16.33% and a return on equity of 10.82%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.09 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Danaher Co. will post 7.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 27th were paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 27th. Danaher’s payout ratio is 20.45%.

Insider Activity

In other Danaher news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 5,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.13, for a total transaction of $1,277,541.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 20,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,534,149.90. The trade was a 21.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 10.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Danaher

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its position in Danaher by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 1,231 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $342,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Meridian Financial Partners LLC grew its position in Danaher by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Meridian Financial Partners LLC now owns 957 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $266,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Danaher by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 1,243 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $346,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. Well Done LLC lifted its stake in shares of Danaher by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Well Done LLC now owns 3,551 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $987,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Finally, Waypoint Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Danaher by 0.9% in the third quarter. Waypoint Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,520 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,257,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. 79.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Danaher

Danaher Corporation designs, manufactures, and markets professional, medical, industrial, and commercial products and services worldwide. The Biotechnology segments offers bioprocess technologies, consumables, and services that advance, accelerate, and integrate the development and manufacture of therapeutics; cell line and cell culture media development services; cell culture media, process liquids and buffers for manufacturing, chromatography resins, filtration technologies, aseptic fill finish; single-use hardware and consumables and services, such as the design and installation of full manufacturing suites; lab filtration, separation, and purification; lab-scale protein purification and analytical tools; reagents, membranes, and services; and healthcare filtration solutions.