Violich Capital Management Inc. Has $8.52 Million Position in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

Violich Capital Management Inc. trimmed its position in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 18.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 37,099 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 8,400 shares during the quarter. Danaher makes up 1.1% of Violich Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Violich Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Danaher were worth $8,516,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Danaher by 15.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,617,424 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $6,566,116,000 after acquiring an additional 3,217,631 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of Danaher by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,097,986 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,417,342,000 after buying an additional 148,251 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Danaher by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 4,552,640 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,265,725,000 after buying an additional 116,299 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in Danaher by 17.6% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,582,982 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $996,141,000 after acquiring an additional 535,254 shares during the period. Finally, Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Danaher by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 1,715,826 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $382,936,000 after acquiring an additional 9,942 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.05% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Danaher

In related news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 5,700 shares of the company’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 value of $1,277,541.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 20,230 shares in the company, valued at $4,534,149.90. This represents a 21.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 11.10% of the company’s stock.

Danaher Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of DHR stock opened at $203.42 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $232.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $251.61. Danaher Co. has a twelve month low of $203.00 and a twelve month high of $281.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $146.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The conglomerate reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.14. Danaher had a net margin of 16.33% and a return on equity of 10.82%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.09 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Danaher Co. will post 7.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 27th were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 27th. Danaher’s payout ratio is presently 20.45%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on DHR. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $277.00 price target (down from $299.00) on shares of Danaher in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Danaher in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $265.00 target price for the company. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Danaher from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Danaher from $275.00 to $240.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Danaher from $277.00 to $268.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.