AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc Sells 27,348 Shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc lessened its stake in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 15.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 149,764 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 27,348 shares during the period. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc’s holdings in Danaher were worth $34,387,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in DHR. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Danaher during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America bought a new position in Danaher in the third quarter worth $39,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Danaher during the third quarter worth $40,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Danaher in the 3rd quarter valued at $50,000. Finally, Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Danaher in the 3rd quarter valued at $55,000. 79.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Danaher Stock Performance

Danaher stock opened at $245.95 on Friday. Danaher Co. has a 1 year low of $225.42 and a 1 year high of $281.70. The company’s 50-day moving average is $235.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $253.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a market cap of $177.65 billion, a PE ratio of 46.94, a PEG ratio of 4.43 and a beta of 0.83.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $5.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.59 billion. Danaher had a net margin of 16.39% and a return on equity of 10.62%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.02 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Danaher Co. will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Danaher Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th will be issued a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 27th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.44%. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Danaher from $305.00 to $285.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Danaher from $275.00 to $278.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Barclays cut their target price on Danaher from $285.00 to $275.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Raymond James dropped their price objective on Danaher from $300.00 to $275.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Danaher in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $265.00 target price on the stock. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $285.55.

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.