Sentry Investment Management LLC Has $609,000 Stock Holdings in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

Sentry Investment Management LLC reduced its position in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 14.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,654 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 432 shares during the period. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Danaher were worth $609,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in DHR. AMF Tjanstepension AB acquired a new position in Danaher in the third quarter valued at approximately $5,923,000. Howard Capital Management Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Danaher by 4.1% during the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 1,229 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $342,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in Danaher by 6.1% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 5,337 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,484,000 after buying an additional 307 shares during the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors grew its position in shares of Danaher by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 3,572 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $993,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the period. Finally, First Financial Bankshares Inc increased its stake in shares of Danaher by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. First Financial Bankshares Inc now owns 42,759 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $11,888,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.05% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Danaher news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 5,700 shares of the firm’s 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 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 filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 11.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Danaher Stock Performance

DHR opened at $211.23 on Tuesday. 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 52-week low of $196.80 and a 52-week high of $281.70. The firm has a market cap of $150.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.83. The business’s fifty day moving average is $226.25 and its 200-day moving average is $246.44.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The conglomerate reported $2.14 earnings per share 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.09 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.61%. This is a boost from Danaher’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio is 24.24%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on DHR. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Danaher from $280.00 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 report on Monday, December 23rd. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $265.00 price target for the company. Barclays dropped their price objective on Danaher from $275.00 to $240.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Bank of America raised Danaher from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $290.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Danaher from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 14th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.