Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) Shares Sold by Bancreek Capital Management LP

Bancreek Capital Management LP reduced its stake in shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 46.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 32,589 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 28,424 shares during the quarter. Danaher comprises approximately 7.3% of Bancreek Capital Management LP’s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Bancreek Capital Management LP’s holdings in Danaher were worth $7,481,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in Danaher during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $101,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Danaher by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. now owns 8,143 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,869,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Ballast Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Danaher by 10.0% in the 4th quarter. Ballast Advisors LLC now owns 4,127 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $947,000 after purchasing an additional 376 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Danaher by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 62,281 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $14,296,000 after purchasing an additional 2,397 shares during the period. Finally, HUB Investment Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Danaher by 241.7% during the fourth quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 3,407 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $782,000 after buying an additional 2,410 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.05% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on DHR shares. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Danaher from $275.00 to $240.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Danaher from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Danaher from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Danaher from $285.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Guggenheim began coverage on shares of Danaher in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $275.00 price target on the stock. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Danaher currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $278.24.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 5,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 20,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,534,149.90. This represents a 21.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 10.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Danaher Trading Up 0.7 %

DHR opened at $211.63 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $151.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.82. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $217.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $238.86. Danaher Co. has a 1-year low of $196.80 and a 1-year high of $281.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 1.05.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The conglomerate reported $2.14 EPS 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 quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.09 EPS. Analysts expect that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Investors of record on Friday, March 28th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.60%. This is a positive change from Danaher’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.24%.

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.