1248 Management LLC Buys New Shares in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

1248 Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 8,200 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $1,885,000. Danaher accounts for about 0.8% of 1248 Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in DHR. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Danaher by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 59,750,122 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $13,715,641,000 after buying an additional 315,912 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Danaher by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,358,206 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,056,996,000 after acquiring an additional 315,446 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Danaher in the 4th quarter valued at $2,130,740,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Danaher by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,589,019 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,971,609,000 after acquiring an additional 441,012 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Danaher by 14.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,934,991 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,821,477,000 after purchasing an additional 992,594 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.05% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Christopher Paul Riley sold 15,805 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.00, for a total value of $3,129,390.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,005,442. This represents a 51.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 11.10% of the company’s stock.

Danaher Stock Down 1.2 %

NYSE DHR opened at $196.90 on Friday. Danaher Co. has a one year low of $171.00 and a one year high of $281.70. 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 business has a fifty day moving average price of $200.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $222.61. The company has a market cap of $140.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.86.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.26. Danaher had a net margin of 16.33% and a return on equity of 10.82%. The firm had revenue of $5.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.58 billion. Research analysts anticipate that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th were issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This is a boost from Danaher’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 28th. Danaher’s payout ratio is currently 24.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Danaher in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Danaher from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, March 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Danaher from $280.00 to $260.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Danaher from $260.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Danaher from $231.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $264.40.

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.