Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Raises Position in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 6.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 597,780 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 36,815 shares during the period. Danaher accounts for about 1.3% of Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Danaher were worth $137,220,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DHR. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Danaher by 15.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,617,424 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $6,566,116,000 after acquiring an additional 3,217,631 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Danaher in the 4th quarter worth $391,172,000. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in Danaher by 6,862.7% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 929,868 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $213,452,000 after acquiring an additional 916,513 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Danaher by 29,287.7% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 588,929 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $135,189,000 after acquiring an additional 586,925 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in Danaher by 17.6% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,582,982 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $996,141,000 after acquiring an additional 535,254 shares during the last quarter. 79.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DHR has been the subject of a number of research reports. Raymond James reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Danaher in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Guggenheim initiated coverage on shares of Danaher in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $275.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $277.00 price objective (down previously from $299.00) on shares of Danaher in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $250.00 target price on Danaher in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on Danaher from $275.00 to $240.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $278.00.

Danaher Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE DHR opened at $212.35 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $151.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.22, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.82. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $222.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $242.62. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Danaher Co. has a 52-week low of $196.80 and a 52-week high of $281.70.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The conglomerate reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14. Danaher had a net margin of 16.33% and a return on equity of 10.82%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.09 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Investors of record on Friday, March 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This is a positive change from Danaher’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.60%. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio is 24.24%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 5,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.13, for a total value of $1,277,541.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 20,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,534,149.90. This trade represents a 21.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 11.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.