Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. Decreases Stock Holdings in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lessened its stake in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 4.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 591,571 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 27,815 shares during the quarter. Danaher accounts for 1.3% of Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P.’s holdings in Danaher were worth $135,796,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Danaher by 15.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,617,424 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $6,566,116,000 after acquiring an additional 3,217,631 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in Danaher by 3.0% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,097,986 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,417,342,000 after purchasing an additional 148,251 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Danaher by 2.6% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 4,552,640 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,265,725,000 after purchasing an additional 116,299 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Danaher by 17.6% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,582,982 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $996,141,000 after purchasing an additional 535,254 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. boosted its position in shares of Danaher by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 1,715,826 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $382,936,000 after purchasing an additional 9,942 shares in the last quarter. 79.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Danaher Stock Down 1.5 %

DHR opened at $206.92 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $232.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $251.79. 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 fifty-two week low of $205.79 and a fifty-two week high of $281.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $149.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.19, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.83.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The conglomerate reported $2.14 earnings per share 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 period in the previous year, the business posted $2.09 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Danaher Co. will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Danaher Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th were paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 27th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 5,700 shares of Danaher stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 11.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DHR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $277.00 price target (down from $299.00) on shares of Danaher in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Raymond James reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Danaher in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Danaher from $275.00 to $240.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Danaher in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $265.00 price objective for the company. Finally, KeyCorp upped their target price on Danaher from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Danaher has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.