American Century Companies Inc. Has $249.38 Million Holdings in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

American Century Companies Inc. lessened its position in shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 10.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,086,366 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 120,407 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in Danaher were worth $249,375,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Danaher during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new position in Danaher during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Danaher during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America bought a new position in Danaher during the 3rd quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Danaher by 63.3% during the 4th quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC now owns 147 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.05% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Danaher

In other news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 5,700 shares of Danaher stock in a transaction 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 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 10.90% of the company’s stock.

Danaher Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:DHR opened at $211.63 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $217.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $238.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.40. The company has a market capitalization of $151.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.08, 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.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The conglomerate reported $2.14 earnings per share 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 company earned $2.09 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.60%. This is an increase from Danaher’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.24%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on DHR shares. StockNews.com cut Danaher from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, December 14th. Guggenheim assumed coverage on Danaher in a report on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $275.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased 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. Scotiabank assumed coverage on Danaher in a report on Monday, December 23rd. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $265.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on Danaher from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $278.24.

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.