Huntington National Bank Cuts Stake in Danaher Corporation $DHR

Huntington National Bank lessened its stake in shares of Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) by 14.2% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 48,524 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 8,050 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank’s holdings in Danaher were worth $9,620,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Danaher by 1.3% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 60,769,587 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $12,004,424,000 after acquiring an additional 788,499 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Danaher by 0.6% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,726,194 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $2,697,800,000 after acquiring an additional 81,670 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Danaher during the second quarter worth approximately $1,979,503,000. Generation Investment Management LLP increased its position in shares of Danaher by 34.0% during the third quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP now owns 6,654,666 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,319,354,000 after purchasing an additional 1,689,020 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Danaher by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,822,442 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $952,625,000 after purchasing an additional 186,357 shares during the last quarter. 79.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Danaher

In other news, EVP Gregory M. Milosevich sold 1,320 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.01, for a total transaction of $274,573.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 5,099 shares in the company, valued at $1,060,642.99. This trade represents a 20.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 11.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on DHR. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Danaher in a research note on Monday, December 1st. They set an “overweight” rating and a $270.00 target price on the stock. KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Danaher in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Guggenheim boosted their price target on shares of Danaher from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 2nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Danaher in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Danaher from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $253.86.

Danaher Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of DHR opened at $210.28 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $225.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $216.23. Danaher Corporation has a 12-month low of $171.00 and a 12-month high of $242.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm has a market cap of $148.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.91.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The conglomerate reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.14 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $6.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.79 billion. Danaher had a net margin of 14.71% and a return on equity of 10.81%. Danaher’s revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.14 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Danaher Corporation will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 24th. Investors of record on Friday, March 27th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This is a boost from Danaher’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 27th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Danaher’s payout ratio is 25.40%.

Danaher Profile

Danaher Corporation (NYSE: DHR) is a global science and technology company that designs, manufactures and markets products and services for the life sciences, diagnostics, and environmental and applied markets. The company organizes its operations into business segments focused on Life Sciences, Diagnostics, and Environmental & Applied Solutions, supplying instruments, reagents, software and related services that support research, clinical testing, biopharmaceutical development, and industrial and environmental monitoring.

Products and services in Danaher’s portfolio include analytical and diagnostic instruments, laboratory consumables and reagents, digital and software solutions for workflow and data management, field and industrial monitoring equipment, and service and maintenance programs.