SlateStone Wealth LLC Sells 250 Shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

SlateStone Wealth LLC lowered its position in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 3.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,193 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 250 shares during the period. SlateStone Wealth LLC’s holdings in Danaher were worth $1,651,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Danaher in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new stake in Danaher during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Danaher during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Danaher in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Danaher by 63.3% during 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. Institutional investors own 79.05% of the company’s stock.

Danaher Trading Up 3.4 %

Shares of NYSE DHR opened at $211.09 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $220.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $240.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 1.05. Danaher Co. has a 1-year low of $196.80 and a 1-year high of $281.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $150.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.98, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.82.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The conglomerate reported $2.14 earnings per share (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 quarter last year, the firm earned $2.09 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DHR has been the topic of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Danaher from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday. Guggenheim initiated coverage on shares of Danaher in a report on Thursday, December 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $275.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $277.00 price target (down previously from $299.00) on shares of Danaher in a report on Thursday, January 30th. 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 report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Danaher from $310.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Danaher has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $277.76.

Insider Buying and Selling at Danaher

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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 20,230 shares in the company, 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 at this link. Company insiders own 11.10% of the company’s stock.

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.