Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI Acquires 1,208 Shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI lifted its stake in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 18.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,840 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,208 shares during the period. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI’s holdings in Danaher were worth $1,800,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Danaher during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Danaher in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Danaher during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in Danaher during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC increased its stake in Danaher by 63.3% in the fourth quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC now owns 147 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. 79.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Danaher Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DHR opened at $205.60 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $146.94 billion, a PE ratio of 38.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.82. Danaher Co. has a 52 week low of $196.80 and a 52 week high of $281.70. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $224.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $244.31. 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 (NYSE:DHR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The conglomerate reported $2.14 EPS 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 in the prior year, the firm posted $2.09 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. This is a positive change from Danaher’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.62%. Danaher’s payout ratio is currently 24.24%.

Insider Activity

In other Danaher news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 5,700 shares of the business’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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 20,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,534,149.90. The trade was a 21.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 11.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Danaher from $280.00 to $240.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $250.00 target price on Danaher in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Danaher from $310.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Danaher from $277.00 to $268.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Danaher from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, December 14th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Danaher presently has a consensus 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.