Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) Shares Bought by Biltmore Family Office LLC

Biltmore Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 10.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,901 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the quarter. Biltmore Family Office LLC’s holdings in Danaher were worth $437,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of DHR. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Danaher during the fourth quarter worth about $2,130,740,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Danaher in the 4th quarter worth $391,172,000. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in Danaher by 6,862.7% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 929,868 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $213,452,000 after purchasing an additional 916,513 shares during the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Danaher by 31.8% during the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 3,105,388 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $712,842,000 after buying an additional 749,136 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Danaher by 29,287.7% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 588,929 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $135,189,000 after acquiring an additional 586,925 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.05% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Danaher

In other news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 5,700 shares of the firm’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 value of $1,277,541.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 20,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 11.10% of the company’s stock.

Danaher Price Performance

Shares of Danaher stock opened at $205.23 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $146.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.86. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $212.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $235.18. Danaher Co. has a 1-year low of $196.34 and a 1-year high of $281.70.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last released its 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 in the prior year, the firm posted $2.09 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays reduced their price objective on Danaher from $275.00 to $240.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Guggenheim began coverage on Danaher in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $275.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Danaher from $310.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Danaher from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Scotiabank started coverage on Danaher in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $265.00 price objective for the company. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Danaher presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $278.24.

Danaher 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.