Danske Bank A S Invests $73.70 Million in Danaher Corporation $DHR

Danske Bank A S bought a new stake in shares of Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 371,722 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $73,698,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in DHR. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC lifted its stake in Danaher by 0.3% in the third quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 15,421 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,057,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. White Pine Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Danaher by 1.4% during the second quarter. White Pine Capital LLC now owns 3,494 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $690,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. SOL Capital Management CO increased its holdings in shares of Danaher by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. SOL Capital Management CO now owns 1,829 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $363,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Purkiss Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Danaher by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Purkiss Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,327 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $263,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TCTC Holdings LLC lifted its position in Danaher by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 7,439 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,475,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. 79.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating on shares of Danaher in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Robert W. Baird set a $251.00 price objective on Danaher in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Danaher in a report on Monday, December 29th. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $254.00 target price on shares of Danaher in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Argus set a $265.00 target price on Danaher in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $253.55.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Gregory M. Milosevich sold 1,320 shares of Danaher 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 transaction, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 11.20% of the company’s stock.

Danaher Stock Up 1.9%

DHR stock opened at $195.00 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $217.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $215.30. The company has a market capitalization of $137.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.93. Danaher Corporation has a 52 week low of $171.00 and a 52 week 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.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 27th. The conglomerate reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.14 by $0.09. Danaher had a net margin of 14.71% and a return on equity of 10.81%. The business had revenue of $6.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.79 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.14 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, 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 paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 27th. This is an increase from Danaher’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Danaher’s dividend 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.