Empire Life Investments Inc. Has $17.83 Million Position in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

Empire Life Investments Inc. increased its stake in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 23.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 77,686 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,897 shares during the quarter. Empire Life Investments Inc.’s holdings in Danaher were worth $17,833,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Danaher in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new stake in Danaher in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Danaher during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new position in shares of Danaher during the third quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Danaher during the third quarter worth approximately $40,000. 79.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DHR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. KeyCorp upped their price target on Danaher from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Scotiabank initiated coverage on Danaher in a report on Monday, December 23rd. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $265.00 price target for the company. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Danaher from $277.00 to $268.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays cut their target price on Danaher from $275.00 to $240.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $315.00 target price on shares of Danaher in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Danaher currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $278.00.

Danaher Price Performance

Danaher stock opened at $206.66 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $230.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $249.96. The stock has a market cap of $149.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.83. Danaher Co. has a 12-month low of $196.80 and a 12-month high of $281.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The conglomerate reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.14. Danaher had a return on equity of 10.82% and a net margin of 16.33%. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.09 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Danaher Co. will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Danaher Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Danaher

In other news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 5,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was 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 owns 20,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,534,149.90. This trade represents a 21.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 11.10% of the company’s stock.

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.