Emprise Bank Purchases Shares of 3,801 Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

Emprise Bank bought a new stake in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 3,801 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $949,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of DHR. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. purchased a new position in Danaher in the third quarter valued at $220,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Danaher by 18.4% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 963,976 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $239,153,000 after purchasing an additional 150,049 shares during the period. Stokes Family Office LLC purchased a new position in Danaher during the third quarter worth approximately $511,000. Bison Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Danaher by 43.3% in the third quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 7,864 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,951,000 after purchasing an additional 2,377 shares during the period. Finally, Interchange Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Danaher by 15.1% in the third quarter. Interchange Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,372 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $340,000 after buying an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.05% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Danaher

In other news, CEO Rainer Blair sold 47,175 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.22, for a total value of $11,756,953.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 115,995 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,908,273.90. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director Alan G. Spoon sold 708 shares of Danaher stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.58, for a total value of $172,454.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 116,202 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,304,483.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Rainer Blair sold 47,175 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.22, for a total transaction of $11,756,953.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 115,995 shares in the company, valued at $28,908,273.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 148,783 shares of company stock worth $37,536,717. 10.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Danaher Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of DHR stock traded up $3.38 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $257.51. 3,162,250 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,006,935. The firm has a market capitalization of $190.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.85. Danaher Co. has a 52-week low of $182.09 and a 52-week high of $269.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.85 and a quick ratio of 1.51. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $254.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $245.00.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.20. Danaher had a net margin of 16.78% and a return on equity of 11.43%. The business had revenue of $5.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.62 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.36 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 28th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.42%. Danaher’s payout ratio is presently 18.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Danaher from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Danaher from $258.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Danaher in a research note on Monday, June 3rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $295.00 price target on the stock. HSBC upgraded Danaher from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $250.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Danaher from $259.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $269.29.

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.