Rafferty Asset Management LLC Has $14.03 Million Position in Danaher Corporation $DHR

Rafferty Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 70,743 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,413 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Danaher were worth $14,026,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Danaher by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,726,194 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $2,697,800,000 after buying an additional 81,670 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Danaher in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,979,503,000. Generation Investment Management LLP grew its position in 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 buying an additional 1,689,020 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Danaher by 4.0% during the second 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 period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.05% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Danaher news, EVP Gregory M. Milosevich sold 1,320 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 5,099 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,060,642.99. This trade represents a 20.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 11.20% of the company’s stock.

Danaher Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE DHR opened at $210.28 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $148.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.72, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.93. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average price of $225.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $216.28. Danaher Corporation has a 12 month low of $171.00 and a 12 month high of $242.80.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 27th. The conglomerate reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.14 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $6.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.79 billion. Danaher had a return on equity of 10.81% and a net margin of 14.71%.Danaher’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.14 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Danaher Corporation will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 27th. This is a positive change from Danaher’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.40%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on DHR. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Danaher in a research report on Monday, December 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Danaher from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Danaher from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 22nd. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Danaher in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $254.00 target price on shares of Danaher in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $253.86.

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.