Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-one analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seventeen have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $278.24.

DHR has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Danaher from $310.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Danaher in a report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Danaher from $285.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Danaher from $280.00 to $240.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Danaher from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 14th.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 5,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.13, for a total value of $1,277,541.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 20,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,534,149.90. This represents a 21.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 11.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Danaher

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Danaher in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Danaher during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Danaher in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Danaher during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC grew its position in Danaher by 63.3% during the fourth quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC now owns 147 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the period. 79.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Danaher Trading Down 0.6 %

DHR opened at $180.71 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $208.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $233.05. The company has a market capitalization of $129.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.22, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.86. Danaher has a 52 week low of $171.92 and a 52 week high of $281.70.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The conglomerate reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.14. Danaher had a return on equity of 10.82% and a net margin of 16.33%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.09 EPS. Analysts forecast that Danaher will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. This is an increase from Danaher’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Danaher’s payout ratio is presently 24.24%.

Danaher Company Profile

Danaher Corporation designs, manufactures, and markets professional, medical, industrial, and commercial products and services worldwide. The Biotechnology segments offers bioprocess technologies, consumables, and services that advance, accelerate, and integrate the development and manufacture of therapeutics; cell line and cell culture media development services; cell culture media, process liquids and buffers for manufacturing, chromatography resins, filtration technologies, aseptic fill finish; single-use hardware and consumables and services, such as the design and installation of full manufacturing suites; lab filtration, separation, and purification; lab-scale protein purification and analytical tools; reagents, membranes, and services; and healthcare filtration solutions.