Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) Stock Position Lowered by Louisiana State Employees Retirement System

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System trimmed its position in shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 4.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 34,600 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 1,600 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Danaher were worth $7,942,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Insider Transactions at Danaher

In other news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 5,700 shares of Danaher 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 20,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,534,149.90. This trade represents a 21.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 11.10% of the company’s stock.

Danaher Price Performance

NYSE DHR opened at $201.15 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $231.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $251.14. Danaher Co. has a twelve month low of $199.75 and a twelve month high of $281.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $145.29 billion, a PE ratio of 38.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.83. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results 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 last year, the firm earned $2.09 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Danaher Co. will post 7.67 EPS for the current year.

Danaher Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 27th were given a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 27th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio is 20.45%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on DHR. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Danaher from $275.00 to $240.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Danaher from $310.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Danaher from $310.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $277.00 price target (down from $299.00) on shares of Danaher in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Raymond James reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Danaher in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Danaher has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $278.00.

Danaher Company 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.