Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) Shares Sold by Simmons Bank

Simmons Bank decreased its position in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 0.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 25,876 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 90 shares during the period. Simmons Bank’s holdings in Danaher were worth $5,940,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in DHR. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Danaher in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Danaher in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Danaher in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new stake in shares of Danaher during the third quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Danaher during the 3rd quarter worth about $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.05% of the company’s stock.

Danaher Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of Danaher stock opened at $210.65 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $225.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $246.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Danaher Co. has a twelve month low of $196.80 and a twelve month high of $281.70. The stock has a market cap of $150.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.83.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The conglomerate reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14. Danaher had a return on equity of 10.82% and a net margin of 16.33%. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.09 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This is a boost from Danaher’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.61%. Danaher’s payout ratio is presently 24.24%.

Insider Activity

In other Danaher news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 5,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 20,230 shares in the company, valued at $4,534,149.90. The trade was a 21.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 11.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on DHR shares. Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Danaher in a report on Monday, December 23rd. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $265.00 target price on the stock. Wolfe Research raised shares of 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. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Danaher from $275.00 to $240.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Bank of America raised 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. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on Danaher from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $278.00.

Danaher 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.