Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) Stock Has Average Target Price of $242.91

Shares of Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-three analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $242.91.

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on DHR shares. Citigroup raised their price target on Danaher from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded Danaher from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 16th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Danaher from $246.00 to $254.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and set a $240.00 price objective on shares of Danaher in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Danaher from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd.

Insider Transactions at Danaher

In other Danaher news, CAO Christopher Bouda sold 7,598 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.56, for a total value of $1,782,186.88. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 9,107 shares in the company, valued at $2,136,137.92. This represents a 45.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 10.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Danaher

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Gunderson Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Danaher in the 3rd quarter valued at about $765,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Danaher during the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,807,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Danaher by 181.9% during the 3rd quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 40,855 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $9,051,000 after buying an additional 26,363 shares in the last quarter. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Danaher by 9.6% in the 3rd quarter. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC now owns 40,549 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $8,984,000 after purchasing an additional 3,553 shares during the period. Finally, Forbes J M & Co. LLP raised its holdings in Danaher by 141.6% during the third quarter. Forbes J M & Co. LLP now owns 4,276 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $947,000 after acquiring an additional 2,506 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.05% of the company’s stock.

Danaher Stock Performance

NYSE:DHR opened at $230.34 on Wednesday. Danaher has a fifty-two week low of $160.93 and a fifty-two week high of $242.80. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $220.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $201.60. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The company has a market cap of $162.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.76.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The conglomerate reported $2.11 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.92 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $6.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.56 billion. Danaher had a net margin of 16.91% and a return on equity of 11.17%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.89 EPS. Analysts expect that Danaher will post 8.59 EPS for the current year.

Danaher Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 30th. Danaher’s payout ratio is currently 26.19%.

About Danaher

Danaher is a global science and technology company that develops and supplies products and services for biotechnology, life sciences, and diagnostics markets. Its offerings include instruments, reagents, consumables, software, and services used in research, drug development and manufacturing, and clinical testing.

The company’s businesses include well-known brands such as Cytiva and Pall in bioprocessing and filtration, Beckman Coulter in laboratory and clinical diagnostics, Cepheid in molecular diagnostics, and Leica Microsystems in microscopy.