Aviance Capital Partners LLC Cuts Stake in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

Aviance Capital Partners LLC reduced its stake in shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 5.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,295 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 200 shares during the period. Aviance Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Danaher were worth $756,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Danaher during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new position in shares of Danaher during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Danaher during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Danaher in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC lifted its position in Danaher by 63.3% in the fourth quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC now owns 147 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. 79.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Danaher Price Performance

DHR opened at $212.35 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $222.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $243.02. Danaher Co. has a 1 year low of $196.80 and a 1 year high of $281.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $151.77 billion, a PE ratio of 40.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.82.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The conglomerate reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.14. Danaher had a return on equity of 10.82% and a net margin of 16.33%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.09 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. This is a positive change from Danaher’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Danaher’s payout ratio is 24.24%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on DHR shares. Citigroup lowered their price target on Danaher from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Danaher from $285.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Raymond James restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Danaher in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $250.00 target price on Danaher in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Scotiabank started coverage on Danaher in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $265.00 target price for the company. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Danaher currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $278.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Danaher

In other Danaher news, 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 value of $1,277,541.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 20,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,534,149.90. This trade represents a 21.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 11.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.