Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) Shares Sold by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. decreased its stake in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 4.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,393,106 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 350,696 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 1.02% of Danaher worth $1,697,087,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of DHR. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund boosted its position in Danaher by 11.6% in the 4th quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 21,233 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $4,874,000 after purchasing an additional 2,202 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Danaher by 1,212.8% during the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 2,770 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $636,000 after buying an additional 2,559 shares in the last quarter. Generate Investment Management Ltd acquired a new stake in Danaher during the fourth quarter valued at $8,044,000. Stifel Financial Corp increased its holdings in Danaher by 1.3% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 847,348 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $235,583,000 after buying an additional 11,216 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Compass Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Danaher by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Compass Capital Management Inc. now owns 237,922 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $54,615,000 after acquiring an additional 10,994 shares during the period. 79.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

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

Danaher Price Performance

Shares of DHR opened at $205.69 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $214.57 and its 200-day moving average is $236.39. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $147.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.82. Danaher Co. has a one year low of $196.80 and a one year high of $281.70.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The conglomerate reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14. Danaher had a net margin of 16.33% and a return on equity of 10.82%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.09 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Investors of record on Friday, March 28th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. This is an increase from Danaher’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.62%. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.24%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on DHR. Scotiabank initiated coverage on Danaher in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $265.00 price target for the company. Raymond James reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Danaher in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America raised shares of Danaher from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $290.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Barclays decreased their price objective 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, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $277.00 target price (down previously from $299.00) on shares of Danaher in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $278.24.

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.