Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) Shares Purchased by Conning Inc.

Conning Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 14.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,277 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,018 shares during the period. Conning Inc.’s holdings in Danaher were worth $5,573,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Danaher in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new position in Danaher in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Danaher in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in Danaher during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new stake in shares of Danaher in the third quarter valued at about $39,000. 79.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Danaher Price Performance

Shares of DHR opened at $206.92 on Friday. Danaher Co. has a 1-year low of $205.79 and a 1-year high of $281.70. The stock has a market cap of $149.45 billion, a PE ratio of 39.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.83. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $233.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $252.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 1.05.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The conglomerate reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.09 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Danaher Co. will post 7.77 EPS for the current year.

Danaher Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th were issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 27th. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.45%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on DHR shares. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Danaher from $275.00 to $240.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Danaher from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 14th. 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 note on Friday, December 13th. 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 price target on the stock. Finally, Raymond James reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Danaher in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $278.00.

Insider Activity at Danaher

In related news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 5,700 shares of Danaher stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.13, for a total value of $1,277,541.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 20,230 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,534,149.90. The trade was a 21.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 10.90% of the company’s stock.

Danaher Company Profile

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.