Moody National Bank Trust Division Has $3.60 Million Holdings in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

Moody National Bank Trust Division raised its holdings in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR – Get Rating) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,565 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 224 shares during the period. Moody National Bank Trust Division’s holdings in Danaher were worth $3,600,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Danaher by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 53,690,131 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $13,867,623,000 after purchasing an additional 995,501 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Danaher by 0.8% in the second quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 8,061,833 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,043,836,000 after buying an additional 65,824 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in shares of Danaher by 6.4% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,656,373 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,180,485,000 after buying an additional 279,432 shares during the last quarter. Amundi increased its holdings in shares of Danaher by 10.2% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 4,649,220 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,157,183,000 after buying an additional 431,694 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Danaher by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 4,171,053 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,077,341,000 after acquiring an additional 328,151 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Danaher

In other Danaher news, Director Raymond C. Stevens sold 8,410 shares of Danaher stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.27, for a total value of $2,222,510.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 8,394 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,218,282.38. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 11.20% of the company’s stock.

Danaher Trading Down 2.6 %

DHR stock traded down $6.38 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $242.96. The stock had a trading volume of 3,467,152 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,675,186. The company has a current ratio of 1.89, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The firm has a market cap of $177.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.80. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $258.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $262.40. Danaher Co. has a 1-year low of $233.71 and a 1-year high of $303.82.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 24th. The conglomerate reported $2.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.41. Danaher had a return on equity of 17.97% and a net margin of 22.91%. The firm had revenue of $8.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.90 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.69 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Danaher Co. will post 10.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.44%. This is a boost from Danaher’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 30th. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.36%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on DHR shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Danaher in a research report on Tuesday, December 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $310.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com began coverage on Danaher in a report on Thursday. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Danaher from $321.00 to $309.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 25th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Danaher from $277.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 24th. Finally, Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Danaher from $340.00 to $320.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $310.29.

About Danaher

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Danaher Corp. engages in the design, manufacture, and marketing of professional, medical, industrial, and commercial products and services. It operates through the following segments: Biotechnology, Life Sciences, Diagnostics, and Environmental and Applied Solutions. The Biotechnology segment includes the bioprocessing and discovery and medical businesses and offers a range of tools, consumables, and services.