Granite Investment Partners LLC Sells 3,650 Shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

Granite Investment Partners LLC lowered its stake in shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR – Get Rating) by 8.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 42,203 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 3,650 shares during the period. Granite Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Danaher were worth $11,202,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Fairfield Bush & CO. grew its stake in shares of Danaher by 10.9% during the first quarter. Fairfield Bush & CO. now owns 4,840 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,420,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. boosted its stake in Danaher by 19.3% in the first quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 2,468 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $724,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in Danaher by 76.8% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 495 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $145,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Danaher by 14.1% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 31,530 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $9,248,000 after acquiring an additional 3,897 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bridgewater Associates LP boosted its stake in Danaher by 135.9% in the first quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 35,270 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $10,346,000 after acquiring an additional 20,320 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on DHR shares. Credit Suisse Group dropped their price objective on shares of Danaher from $300.00 to $270.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 26th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Danaher in a research note on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Danaher from $270.00 to $260.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on shares of Danaher from $310.00 to $275.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Danaher from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $275.00 to $285.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 18th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $294.06.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Danaher news, EVP Joakim Weidemanis sold 9,934 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.27, for a total transaction of $2,436,512.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 91,423 shares in the company, valued at $22,423,319.21. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Joakim Weidemanis sold 9,934 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.27, for a total value of $2,436,512.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 91,423 shares in the company, valued at $22,423,319.21. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Walter G. Lohr sold 3,490 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.88, for a total transaction of $840,671.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 12,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,918,261.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 14,619 shares of company stock worth $3,568,741. Insiders own 11.10% of the company’s stock.

Danaher Stock Up 1.4 %

NYSE DHR traded up $3.16 on Friday, hitting $233.61. 1,343,439 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,877,009. The company has a market cap of $172.38 billion, a PE ratio of 25.08, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.80. Danaher Co. has a 12 month low of $221.22 and a 12 month high of $303.82. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $242.10 and a 200-day moving average of $254.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.89, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 25th. The conglomerate reported $2.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.10. Danaher had a net margin of 22.40% and a return on equity of 16.70%. The firm had revenue of $7.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.06 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.76 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Danaher Co. will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Danaher Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 29th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.46%. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.64%.

Danaher Company Profile

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Danaher Corp. engages in the design, manufacture, and marketing of professional, medical, industrial, and commercial products and services. It operates through the following segments: Biotechnology, Life Sciences, Diagnostics, and Environmental and Applied Solutions. The Biotechnology segment includes the bioprocessing and discovery and medical businesses and offers a range of tools, consumables, and services.