Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) Shares Sold by Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund reduced its position in shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 10.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 102,772 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 12,600 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in Danaher were worth $23,591,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Kovack Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Danaher by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 1,243 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $346,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. grew its holdings in Danaher by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 1,749 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $401,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Grimes & Company Inc. grew its holdings in Danaher by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. now owns 7,390 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,696,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. Harbour Investments Inc. grew its holdings in Danaher by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 1,531 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $426,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. Finally, Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA grew its stake in shares of Danaher by 16.4% in the 4th quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 320 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $73,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. 79.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Danaher

In related news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 5,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 20,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,534,149.90. This trade represents a 21.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 11.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Danaher Stock Up 0.9 %

DHR stock opened at $209.86 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $226.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $246.96. 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 $196.80 and a fifty-two week high of $281.70. The company has a market cap of $151.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.83.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The conglomerate reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, hitting 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 in the prior year, the company earned $2.09 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.61%. This is an increase from Danaher’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.45%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DHR has been the topic of several recent research reports. Guggenheim initiated coverage on shares of Danaher in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $275.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America raised shares of Danaher from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $290.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Raymond James reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Danaher in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Danaher from $277.00 to $268.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Danaher from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 14th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Danaher currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $278.00.

Danaher 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.