Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) Holdings Decreased by Independence Bank of Kentucky

Independence Bank of Kentucky cut its position in shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 6.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 6,261 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 415 shares during the period. Independence Bank of Kentucky’s holdings in Danaher were worth $1,437,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DHR. Quarry LP raised its position in shares of Danaher by 250.6% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 298 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its stake in Danaher by 21.4% during the 2nd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 45,434 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $11,352,000 after purchasing an additional 8,006 shares during the period. Centaurus Financial Inc. grew its position in Danaher by 12.7% in the 2nd quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 7,936 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,983,000 after purchasing an additional 894 shares during the last quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB acquired a new stake in shares of Danaher in the third quarter valued at approximately $5,923,000. Finally, Czech National Bank raised its holdings in shares of Danaher by 4.2% during the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 130,939 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $36,404,000 after buying an additional 5,320 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.05% of the company’s stock.

Danaher Price Performance

NYSE DHR opened at $222.56 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Danaher Co. has a 1 year low of $221.34 and a 1 year high of $281.70. The company has a market cap of $160.75 billion, a PE ratio of 42.15, a PEG ratio of 4.22 and a beta of 0.83. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $235.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $253.07.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The conglomerate reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.14. Danaher had a net margin of 16.33% and a return on equity of 10.72%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.09 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Danaher Co. will post 8.15 EPS for the current year.

Danaher Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 27th. Danaher’s payout ratio is 20.45%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Danaher 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 in the company, valued at $4,534,149.90. This represents a 21.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 11.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on DHR. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Danaher from $277.00 to $268.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Danaher from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, December 14th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Danaher from $285.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Danaher from $250.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Danaher from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $290.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.