Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. Increases Stock Holdings in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. lifted its position in shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 2.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 277,300 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 5,800 shares during the quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V.’s holdings in Danaher were worth $63,654,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in DHR. Kovack Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Danaher by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 1,243 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $346,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. lifted its holdings in Danaher by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 1,749 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $401,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. boosted its stake in Danaher by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. now owns 7,390 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,696,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. Harbour Investments Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Danaher by 3.0% during the third quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 1,531 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $426,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA raised its position in shares of Danaher by 16.4% during the 4th quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 320 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. 79.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Danaher Price Performance

DHR stock opened at $209.27 on Thursday. Danaher Co. has a one year low of $196.80 and a one year high of $281.70. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $225.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $245.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $149.57 billion, a PE ratio of 39.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

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 10.82%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.09 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. This is a boost from Danaher’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.24%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on DHR shares. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Danaher from $285.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Guggenheim initiated coverage on shares of Danaher in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $275.00 price target for the company. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Danaher from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Danaher from $310.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, 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, January 28th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $278.00.

Insider Activity at Danaher

In other Danaher news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 5,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 20,230 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,534,149.90. This trade represents a 21.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 11.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.