SlateStone Wealth LLC Lowers Holdings in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

SlateStone Wealth LLC decreased its position in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 3.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,193 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 250 shares during the period. SlateStone Wealth LLC’s holdings in Danaher were worth $1,651,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of DHR. Howard Capital Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in Danaher by 4.1% during the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 1,229 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $342,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in Danaher by 3.0% during the third quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 1,531 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $426,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. Kovack Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Danaher by 3.4% during the third quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 1,243 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $346,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in Danaher by 5.8% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 15,870 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $4,412,000 after buying an additional 876 shares during the period. Finally, Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in Danaher by 1.4% during the third quarter. Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. now owns 6,008 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,670,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.05% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on DHR shares. Scotiabank started coverage on Danaher in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $265.00 price target on the stock. Guggenheim started coverage on Danaher in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $275.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Danaher from $310.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com downgraded Danaher from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Danaher from $285.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $277.76.

Insider Activity at Danaher

In related news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 5,700 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 11.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Danaher Price Performance

NYSE:DHR opened at $211.09 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $220.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $240.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.40. Danaher Co. has a one year low of $196.80 and a one year high of $281.70. The firm has a market cap of $150.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.98, a PEG 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, 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 quarter last year, the company posted $2.09 EPS. Research analysts expect that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders 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. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.61%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.24%.

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.