Vontobel Holding Ltd. Raises Holdings in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its position in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 172,231 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 2,094 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd.’s holdings in Danaher were worth $39,536,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DHR. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC grew its stake in shares of Danaher by 3.2% during the third quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 1,231 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $342,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Meridian Financial Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Danaher by 4.4% in the third quarter. Meridian Financial Partners LLC now owns 957 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $266,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Kovack Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Danaher by 3.4% in the third quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 1,243 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $346,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Well Done LLC lifted its stake in Danaher by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Well Done LLC now owns 3,551 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $987,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Finally, Waypoint Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Danaher by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Waypoint Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,520 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,257,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. 79.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Danaher Price Performance

NYSE:DHR opened at $203.56 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $230.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $250.28. Danaher Co. has a 12 month low of $196.80 and a 12 month high of $281.70. The firm has a market cap of $147.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The conglomerate reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting 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 company posted $2.09 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Danaher Co. will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders 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 payout ratio is 20.45%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on DHR shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Danaher from $280.00 to $240.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Guggenheim began coverage on Danaher in a report on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $275.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Danaher from $310.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on Danaher from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Danaher from $275.00 to $240.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $278.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 5,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 20,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,534,149.90. This trade represents a 21.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 11.10% of the company’s stock.

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.