State of Michigan Retirement System Sells 600 Shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

State of Michigan Retirement System lessened its position in shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 0.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 174,446 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 600 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in Danaher were worth $40,044,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Howard Capital Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Danaher by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 1,229 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $342,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Danaher by 360.0% during the 3rd quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 230 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Danaher in the third quarter worth approximately $207,000. Pure Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Danaher in the third quarter valued at approximately $202,000. Finally, Kanawha Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Danaher during the third quarter valued at approximately $217,000. 79.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Danaher Stock Down 1.0 %

Danaher stock opened at $205.60 on Tuesday. Danaher Co. has a fifty-two week low of $196.80 and a fifty-two week high of $281.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.40. The company has a market cap of $146.94 billion, a PE ratio of 38.94, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.83. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $224.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $244.31.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The conglomerate reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.14. Danaher had a net margin of 16.33% and a return on equity of 10.82%. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.09 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. This is a boost from Danaher’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.62%. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.24%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 5,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 20,230 shares in the company, valued at $4,534,149.90. This represents a 21.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 11.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Danaher from $310.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Danaher from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Danaher from $285.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Danaher in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $265.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective 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 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.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.