SFE Investment Counsel Raises Stake in Danaher Corporation $DHR

SFE Investment Counsel boosted its holdings in shares of Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) by 32.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 36,120 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 8,930 shares during the quarter. SFE Investment Counsel’s holdings in Danaher were worth $6,848,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in DHR. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Danaher by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,681,334 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $6,345,529,000 after purchasing an additional 472,608 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in Danaher by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 18,246,008 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,177,386,000 after purchasing an additional 1,487,768 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in Danaher by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 15,973,240 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $3,656,595,000 after purchasing an additional 1,334,221 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Danaher by 11.2% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 15,076,796 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,451,380,000 after buying an additional 1,517,904 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Danaher in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,177,106,000. 79.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Danaher Price Performance

DHR traded up $3.13 during trading on Friday, hitting $199.11. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,847,629 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,706,558. The company has a current ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Danaher Corporation has a twelve month low of $160.93 and a twelve month high of $242.80. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $180.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $199.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $140.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.79.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 20th. The conglomerate reported $2.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.12. Danaher had a return on equity of 10.91% and a net margin of 14.89%.The business had revenue of $5.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.88 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Danaher Corporation will post 8.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 26th 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 of this dividend is Friday, June 26th. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group dropped their target price on Danaher from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $230.00 price target on shares of Danaher in a report on Monday, July 6th. Citigroup assumed coverage on Danaher in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $230.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on shares of Danaher in a report on Thursday, May 14th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $200.00 target price for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Danaher from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $231.64.

About Danaher

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.