Schechter Investment Advisors LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

Schechter Investment Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 8.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,033 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 633 shares during the quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Danaher were worth $1,615,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Danaher during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Danaher during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Danaher during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America bought a new stake in shares of Danaher during the 3rd quarter worth $39,000. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Danaher during the 3rd quarter worth $40,000. 79.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Danaher Price Performance

Shares of Danaher stock opened at $205.60 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $224.11 and a 200 day moving average of $244.31. 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 company has a market cap of $146.94 billion, a PE ratio of 38.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.83. Danaher Co. has a 52 week low of $196.80 and a 52 week high of $281.70.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 in the prior year, the business earned $2.09 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This is a boost from Danaher’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.24%.

Insider Transactions at Danaher

In other news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 5,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was 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 approximately $4,534,149.90. This represents a 21.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 11.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DHR has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Raymond James reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Danaher in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Danaher from $285.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Bank of America upgraded Danaher from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $290.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $250.00 price target on Danaher in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Guggenheim began coverage on Danaher in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $275.00 price target on the stock. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Danaher presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $278.00.

Danaher 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.