KCM Investment Advisors LLC Has $18.34 Million Stock Holdings in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

KCM Investment Advisors LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 10.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 79,877 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 9,156 shares during the period. KCM Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Danaher were worth $18,336,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Danaher during the fourth quarter worth about $2,130,740,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Danaher during the 4th quarter worth approximately $391,172,000. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in Danaher by 6,862.7% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 929,868 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $213,452,000 after purchasing an additional 916,513 shares during the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC boosted its position in Danaher by 31.8% in the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 3,105,388 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $712,842,000 after buying an additional 749,136 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Danaher by 29,287.7% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 588,929 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $135,189,000 after buying an additional 586,925 shares during the last quarter. 79.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 5,700 shares of Danaher 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 20,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,534,149.90. This trade represents a 21.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 11.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Danaher from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Scotiabank assumed coverage on Danaher in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $265.00 price target on the stock. Raymond James reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Danaher in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Danaher from $285.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Danaher from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $290.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Danaher has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $278.24.

Danaher Price Performance

Danaher stock opened at $181.42 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $129.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.36, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.86. Danaher Co. has a 52-week low of $181.20 and a 52-week high of $281.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.40. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $209.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $234.26.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 previous year, the business earned $2.09 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.71%. This is a positive change from Danaher’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.24%.

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.