Insider Selling: Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) SVP Sells $1,277,541.00 in Stock

Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 5,700 shares of the company’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 owns 20,230 shares in the company, valued at $4,534,149.90. This trade represents a 21.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Danaher Stock Down 0.2 %

Danaher stock opened at $222.56 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $160.75 billion, a PE ratio of 42.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.22 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.37. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $235.40 and a 200 day moving average of $253.08. Danaher Co. has a one year low of $221.34 and a one year high of $281.70.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 16.33% and a return on equity of 10.72%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.09 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Danaher Co. will post 8.15 EPS for the current year.

Danaher Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 27th. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.45%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Danaher

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in DHR. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Danaher during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new stake in Danaher in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Danaher in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of Danaher during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Danaher by 63.3% during the fourth quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC now owns 147 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. 79.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on DHR shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Danaher from $280.00 to $240.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $315.00 price objective on shares of Danaher in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Bank of America upgraded shares of Danaher from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $290.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, December 13th. KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of Danaher from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com cut Danaher from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, December 14th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $278.00.

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.