Jacobson & Schmitt Advisors LLC Boosts Stake in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

Jacobson & Schmitt Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 10.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 88,991 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,489 shares during the period. Danaher makes up 3.9% of Jacobson & Schmitt Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Jacobson & Schmitt Advisors LLC’s holdings in Danaher were worth $20,428,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund grew its position in Danaher by 11.6% during the fourth quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 21,233 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $4,874,000 after buying an additional 2,202 shares in the last quarter. Fort Pitt Capital Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Danaher by 3.2% during the third quarter. Fort Pitt Capital Group LLC now owns 238,092 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $66,194,000 after purchasing an additional 7,421 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Danaher by 1,212.8% in the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 2,770 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $636,000 after purchasing an additional 2,559 shares during the last quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. raised its stake in Danaher by 1.2% in the third quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. now owns 202,263 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $56,233,000 after purchasing an additional 2,465 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Generate Investment Management Ltd bought a new stake in Danaher during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $8,044,000. Institutional investors own 79.05% of the company’s stock.

Danaher Stock Performance

Danaher stock opened at $205.23 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $227.74 and a 200-day moving average of $247.80. The firm has a market cap of $148.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 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 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 data on Wednesday, January 29th. The conglomerate reported $2.14 earnings per share 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 company posted $2.09 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Danaher Co. will post 7.67 EPS for the current year.

Danaher Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 27th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 27th. Danaher’s payout ratio is currently 20.45%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Danaher news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 5,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.13, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 21.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 10.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on DHR shares. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Danaher from $285.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Danaher from $310.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. KeyCorp upped their price objective on Danaher from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com downgraded Danaher from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 14th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $315.00 price target on shares of Danaher in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $278.00.

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.