Banyan Capital Management Inc. Sells 269 Shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

Banyan Capital Management Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 23,263 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 269 shares during the period. Danaher accounts for 3.2% of Banyan Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. Banyan Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Danaher were worth $5,340,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Danaher during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new position in shares of Danaher in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Danaher during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America bought a new stake in shares of Danaher during the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Danaher in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. 79.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Danaher Stock Performance

DHR opened at $205.23 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $227.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $247.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The firm has a market cap of $148.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.87, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.83. Danaher Co. has a 1-year low of $196.80 and a 1-year high of $281.70.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The conglomerate reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14. Danaher had a return on equity of 10.82% and a net margin of 16.33%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.09 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Danaher Co. will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th were issued a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 27th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.45%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on DHR. Barclays reduced their target price on Danaher from $275.00 to $240.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $315.00 target price on shares of Danaher in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Raymond James reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Danaher in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Danaher from $280.00 to $240.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Guggenheim assumed coverage on shares of Danaher in a report on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $275.00 target price on the stock. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $278.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 5,700 shares of the business’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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 20,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,534,149.90. The trade was a 21.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 10.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Danaher

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.