Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Lowers Stock Position in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System trimmed its stake in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 6.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 34,781 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 2,447 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Danaher were worth $7,984,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Howard Capital Management Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Danaher by 4.1% in the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 1,229 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $342,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Danaher during the third quarter worth about $1,941,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Danaher in the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Pathstone Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of Danaher by 0.7% in the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 112,444 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $31,263,000 after purchasing an additional 795 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Knuff & Co LLC increased its stake in Danaher by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Knuff & Co LLC now owns 8,258 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $2,296,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the period. 79.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Danaher Stock Performance

Shares of DHR stock opened at $212.71 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $219.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $239.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.40. Danaher Co. has a 1 year low of $196.80 and a 1 year high of $281.70. The firm has a market cap of $152.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.29, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.82.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The conglomerate reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.09 EPS. Analysts predict that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Investors of record on Friday, March 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.60%. This is a boost from Danaher’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.24%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on DHR shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Danaher from $280.00 to $240.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Danaher from $277.00 to $268.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays reduced their price target on Danaher from $275.00 to $240.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Raymond James reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Danaher in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Danaher from $285.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Danaher has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $277.76.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 5,700 shares of the 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 20,230 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,534,149.90. This represents a 21.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 10.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.