Townsend Asset Management Corp NC ADV Grows Stake in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

Townsend Asset Management Corp NC ADV raised its holdings in shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 2.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 21,315 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 511 shares during the period. Danaher comprises approximately 1.8% of Townsend Asset Management Corp NC ADV’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Townsend Asset Management Corp NC ADV’s holdings in Danaher were worth $4,893,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund boosted its position in shares of Danaher by 11.6% during the fourth quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 21,233 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,874,000 after buying an additional 2,202 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Danaher by 1,212.8% during the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 2,770 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $636,000 after buying an additional 2,559 shares during the period. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Danaher by 1.2% during the third quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. now owns 202,263 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $56,233,000 after buying an additional 2,465 shares during the period. Generate Investment Management Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Danaher during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $8,044,000. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of Danaher by 1.3% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 847,348 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $235,583,000 after buying an additional 11,216 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.05% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on DHR shares. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Danaher from $285.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Raymond James reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Danaher in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $277.00 price target (down previously from $299.00) on shares of Danaher in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Guggenheim started coverage on shares of Danaher in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $275.00 price objective for the company. Finally, 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 objective for the company. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Danaher currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $278.00.

Danaher Stock Performance

Shares of DHR stock opened at $210.97 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $223.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $243.63. The company has a market cap of $150.78 billion, a PE ratio of 39.96, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.82. 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 12-month low of $196.80 and a 12-month high of $281.70.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 last year, the firm earned $2.09 EPS. Analysts expect that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. This is a positive change 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 24.24%.

Insider Activity

In other 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 transaction of $1,277,541.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 20,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,534,149.90. The trade was a 21.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 11.10% of the company’s stock.

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.