Securian Asset Management Inc. Lowers Holdings in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

Securian Asset Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 2.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 34,548 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 1,003 shares during the period. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Danaher were worth $7,930,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in DHR. Howard Capital Management Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Danaher by 4.1% in the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 1,229 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $342,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Tyler Stone Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Danaher by 194.8% in the third quarter. Tyler Stone Wealth Management now owns 858 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $238,000 after buying an additional 567 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Danaher in the third quarter worth about $222,000. Patten & Patten Inc. TN bought a new stake in Danaher during the third quarter worth approximately $203,000. Finally, Catalytic Wealth RIA LLC increased its stake in Danaher by 54.3% during the third quarter. Catalytic Wealth RIA LLC now owns 2,051 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $570,000 after acquiring an additional 722 shares during the last quarter. 79.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 5,700 shares of Danaher stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.13, for a total transaction of $1,277,541.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 20,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,534,149.90. The trade was a 21.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 11.10% of the company’s stock.

Danaher Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of Danaher stock opened at $206.01 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $221.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $241.74. Danaher Co. has a twelve month low of $196.80 and a twelve month high of $281.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $147.24 billion, a PE ratio of 39.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.82.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The conglomerate reported $2.14 earnings per share 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 last year, the business posted $2.09 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.62%. 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 presently 24.24%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on DHR. StockNews.com cut Danaher from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 14th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Danaher from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Raymond James restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Danaher in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America upgraded Danaher from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $290.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Danaher from $310.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $278.00.

Danaher 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.