Swiss National Bank Boosts Holdings in Danaher Corporation $DHR

Swiss National Bank grew its stake in shares of Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) by 5.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,865,708 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 99,700 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Danaher were worth $353,738,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. World Equity Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Danaher by 4.7% in the first quarter. World Equity Group Inc. now owns 4,484 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $850,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. AIA Group Ltd raised its stake in Danaher by 63.0% during the first quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 74,425 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $14,111,000 after purchasing an additional 28,763 shares during the period. Aviance Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Danaher by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,269 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $620,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Danaher by 178.7% during the 1st quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,449 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $275,000 after buying an additional 929 shares during the period. Finally, German American Bancorp Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Danaher by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. German American Bancorp Inc. now owns 18,603 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $3,527,000 after buying an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. 79.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DHR has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Guggenheim reduced their target price on Danaher from $275.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. TD Cowen dropped their price target on Danaher from $245.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Citigroup assumed coverage on Danaher in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $230.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays reduced their price objective on Danaher from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Wolfe Research cut Danaher from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Danaher has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $231.64.

Danaher Stock Performance

Shares of DHR stock opened at $203.65 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company has a market cap of $144.14 billion, a PE ratio of 39.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.79. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $183.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $198.47. Danaher Corporation has a 52 week low of $160.93 and a 52 week high of $242.80.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 20th. The conglomerate reported $2.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.12. Danaher had a net margin of 14.89% and a return on equity of 10.91%. The firm had revenue of $5.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.88 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Danaher Corporation will post 8.45 EPS for the current year.

Danaher Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 26th will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 26th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.95%.

About Danaher

Danaher Corporation (NYSE: DHR) is a global science and technology company that designs, manufactures and markets products and services for the life sciences, diagnostics, and environmental and applied markets. The company organizes its operations into business segments focused on Life Sciences, Diagnostics, and Environmental & Applied Solutions, supplying instruments, reagents, software and related services that support research, clinical testing, biopharmaceutical development, and industrial and environmental monitoring.

Products and services in Danaher’s portfolio include analytical and diagnostic instruments, laboratory consumables and reagents, digital and software solutions for workflow and data management, field and industrial monitoring equipment, and service and maintenance programs.