Danaher Corporation $DHR Stock: First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. Increases Position

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. grew its stake in Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) by 290.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 56,188 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 41,780 shares during the quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Danaher were worth $12,448,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of DHR. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Danaher in the 2nd quarter valued at about $10,492,520,000. Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Danaher during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,456,317,000. Generation Investment Management LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Danaher during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,287,949,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in Danaher in the second quarter valued at approximately $993,846,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in Danaher in the second quarter valued at approximately $801,056,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.05% of the company’s stock.

Danaher Stock Up 0.9%

Danaher stock opened at $223.30 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $156.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. Danaher Corporation has a twelve month low of $160.93 and a twelve month high of $242.80. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $212.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $195.13.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 20th. The conglomerate reported $1.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.09. Danaher had a return on equity of 11.04% and a net margin of 15.95%. The firm had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.12 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.77 earnings per share. Danaher’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Danaher Corporation will post 8.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Danaher’s payout ratio is currently 28.42%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on DHR shares. UBS Group assumed coverage on Danaher in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $250.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Danaher from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and set a $240.00 price objective on shares of Danaher in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $230.00 price objective on shares of Danaher in a report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Danaher from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.41.

Danaher Profile

Danaher Corporation (NYSE: DHR) is a global science and technology company that develops and manufactures products, services and solutions for the life sciences, diagnostics and biotechnology industries. Its offerings help researchers, healthcare professionals and biopharmaceutical manufacturers discover, develop, produce and analyze medicines and other biological products.

The company operates through businesses that provide laboratory instruments, consumables, software and services, including technologies for cell analysis, genomics, protein research, bioprocessing and clinical diagnostics.