Independence Bank of Kentucky Reduces Stake in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

Independence Bank of Kentucky trimmed its position in shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 6.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,261 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 415 shares during the quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky’s holdings in Danaher were worth $1,437,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Danaher by 15.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,617,424 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $6,566,116,000 after buying an additional 3,217,631 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of Danaher by 17.6% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,582,982 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $996,141,000 after acquiring an additional 535,254 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Danaher by 40,196.5% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 429,964 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $119,539,000 after acquiring an additional 428,897 shares in the last quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Danaher by 30.4% during the third quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 1,705,884 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $465,617,000 after acquiring an additional 397,671 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new stake in Danaher during the 4th quarter worth about $74,551,000. 79.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Danaher

In related news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 5,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 20,230 shares in the company, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 11.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $277.00 price target (down from $299.00) on shares of Danaher in a research note on Thursday. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $315.00 target price on shares of Danaher in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Raymond James cut their price target on Danaher from $300.00 to $275.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Scotiabank began coverage on Danaher in a report on Monday, December 23rd. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $265.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, KeyCorp upped their target price on Danaher from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $278.00.

Danaher Stock Performance

NYSE:DHR opened at $222.56 on Friday. Danaher Co. has a twelve month low of $221.34 and a twelve month high of $281.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $160.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.15, a PEG ratio of 4.22 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $235.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $253.07.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The conglomerate reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14. Danaher had a return on equity of 10.72% and a net margin of 16.33%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.09 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Danaher Co. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 27th were paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 27th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.45%.

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.