Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) Shares Acquired by Kelly Lawrence W & Associates Inc. CA

Kelly Lawrence W & Associates Inc. CA boosted its position in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 4.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 53,597 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,180 shares during the quarter. Danaher accounts for 2.9% of Kelly Lawrence W & Associates Inc. CA’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Kelly Lawrence W & Associates Inc. CA’s holdings in Danaher were worth $12,303,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MML Investors Services LLC increased its position in Danaher by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 91,504 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $21,005,000 after purchasing an additional 1,984 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Danaher by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 170,193 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $39,068,000 after buying an additional 3,006 shares during the period. Norinchukin Bank The raised its stake in shares of Danaher by 11.1% in the 4th quarter. Norinchukin Bank The now owns 30,045 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $6,897,000 after acquiring an additional 3,002 shares during the period. Capital International Inc. CA lifted its holdings in shares of Danaher by 13.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Inc. CA now owns 276,163 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $63,393,000 after acquiring an additional 31,905 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in Danaher by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,812,728 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,334,312,000 after purchasing an additional 370,111 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.05% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 5,700 shares of Danaher stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.13, for a total value of $1,277,541.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 20,230 shares in the company, valued at $4,534,149.90. This trade represents a 21.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 11.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on DHR shares. Scotiabank initiated coverage on Danaher in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $265.00 price objective on the stock. Raymond James restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Danaher in a report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective 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. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Danaher in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, 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 research note on Thursday, January 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $274.55.

Danaher Trading Down 2.1 %

NYSE DHR opened at $186.71 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $133.44 billion, a PE ratio of 35.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.86. Danaher Co. has a one year low of $171.00 and a one year high of $281.70. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $201.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $226.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.40.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The conglomerate reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, meeting 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 period in the prior year, the company earned $2.09 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.69%. This is a boost from Danaher’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.24%.

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.