Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) SVP Brian W. Ellis Sells 5,700 Shares

Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 5,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.13, for a total transaction of $1,277,541.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 20,230 shares in the company, valued at $4,534,149.90. This represents a 21.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Danaher Stock Down 0.2 %

DHR stock opened at $222.56 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $160.75 billion, a PE ratio of 42.15, a P/E/G ratio of 4.22 and a beta of 0.83. Danaher Co. has a 12 month low of $221.34 and a 12 month high of $281.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $235.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $253.24.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The conglomerate reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.14. Danaher had a return on equity of 10.72% and a net margin of 16.33%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.09 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Danaher Co. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 27th were paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 27th. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.45%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in DHR. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Danaher in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Danaher in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Danaher during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new position in Danaher during the third quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Danaher during the 3rd quarter worth about $40,000. 79.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on DHR. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Danaher from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Danaher from $310.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Danaher from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Danaher in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $265.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Danaher from $285.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Danaher currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $278.00.

Danaher Company 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.