Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) Shares Sold by Federated Hermes Inc.

Federated Hermes Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 43.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 256,041 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 193,932 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in Danaher were worth $58,774,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Danaher during the fourth quarter worth $2,130,740,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Danaher during the 4th quarter worth about $391,172,000. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in shares of Danaher by 6,862.7% during the 4th 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 period. Parnassus Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Danaher by 31.8% in the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 3,105,388 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $712,842,000 after purchasing an additional 749,136 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Danaher by 29,287.7% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 588,929 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $135,189,000 after purchasing an additional 586,925 shares during the period. 79.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Danaher Trading Down 8.3 %

Shares of DHR opened at $181.42 on Monday. 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 has a 50-day moving average price of $209.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $233.73. Danaher Co. has a 12-month low of $165.17 and a 12-month high of $281.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $129.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.86.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The conglomerate reported $2.14 earnings per share (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 quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.09 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. This is a positive change from Danaher’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio is 24.24%.

Insider Transactions at Danaher

In other Danaher news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 5,700 shares of the company’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 owns 20,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,534,149.90. This represents a 21.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 11.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Scotiabank initiated coverage on Danaher in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $265.00 price objective for the company. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Danaher from $275.00 to $240.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Guggenheim started coverage on shares of Danaher in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $275.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Danaher from $280.00 to $240.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Raymond James reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Danaher in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $278.24.

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.