Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) Stock Position Boosted by Kelly Lawrence W & Associates Inc. CA

Kelly Lawrence W & Associates Inc. CA grew its stake in shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 4.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 53,597 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,180 shares during the period. Danaher makes up about 2.9% of Kelly Lawrence W & Associates Inc. CA’s holdings, making the stock its 13th largest position. Kelly Lawrence W & Associates Inc. CA’s holdings in Danaher were worth $12,303,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Danaher in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Danaher in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Danaher during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new stake in Danaher during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC grew its position in Danaher by 63.3% in the fourth quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC now owns 147 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. 79.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Danaher Trading Down 2.1 %

NYSE:DHR opened at $186.71 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $133.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.86. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $201.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $226.91. 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 52 week low of $171.00 and a 52 week high of $281.70.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 quarter last year, the business posted $2.09 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. This is an increase from Danaher’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio is 24.24%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 5,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was 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 directly owns 20,230 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,534,149.90. The trade was a 21.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 11.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on DHR shares. Barclays upgraded Danaher from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $240.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Danaher from $285.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Danaher from $310.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Scotiabank began 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, Robert W. Baird set a $231.00 price objective on shares of Danaher in a research note on Wednesday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $274.55.

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.