Danaher Corporation $DHR Stock: Renaissance Investment Group LLC Reduces Position

Renaissance Investment Group LLC lowered its stake in shares of Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) by 49.8% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 16,723 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 16,582 shares during the period. Renaissance Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Danaher were worth $3,705,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Danaher during the 2nd quarter valued at $10,492,520,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Danaher by 10.4% during the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 16,316,834 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $3,108,031,000 after purchasing an additional 1,542,310 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new position in Danaher in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,456,317,000. Generation Investment Management LLP bought a new position in Danaher in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,287,949,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in Danaher during the 2nd quarter valued at about $993,846,000. 79.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Danaher Trading Down 2.0%

Shares of Danaher stock opened at $232.22 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.29. Danaher Corporation has a 1 year low of $160.93 and a 1 year high of $242.80. The firm has a market cap of $163.37 billion, a PE ratio of 38.01, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $218.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $201.77.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The conglomerate reported $2.11 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.92 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $6.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.56 billion. Danaher had a net margin of 16.91% and a return on equity of 11.17%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.89 EPS. Analysts expect that Danaher Corporation will post 8.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 30th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 30th. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on DHR. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price target on shares of Danaher in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Danaher from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $230.00 price objective on shares of Danaher in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Danaher from $246.00 to $254.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Danaher from $212.00 to $195.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $242.91.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Danaher news, CAO Christopher Bouda sold 7,598 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.56, for a total transaction of $1,782,186.88. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 9,107 shares in the company, valued at $2,136,137.92. This trade represents a 45.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 10.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Danaher Profile

Danaher Corporation (NYSE: DHR) is a global science and technology company that develops products, services and solutions for the life sciences, biotechnology and diagnostics markets. Its offerings help researchers, pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, healthcare providers and other organizations conduct scientific research, develop and manufacture medicines, and diagnose disease.

The company operates through businesses that provide bioprocessing equipment and technologies, laboratory instruments, consumables, analytical tools and clinical diagnostic systems.