Congress Wealth Management LLC DE Purchases 736 Shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

Congress Wealth Management LLC DE lifted its position in shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 6.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,749 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 736 shares during the quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE’s holdings in Danaher were worth $2,927,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Howard Capital Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in Danaher by 4.1% during the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 1,229 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $342,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Danaher by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 1,646 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $458,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd boosted its position in Danaher by 544.6% during the third quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 954 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $265,000 after purchasing an additional 806 shares in the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in Danaher in the third quarter valued at about $110,000. Finally, Qsemble Capital Management LP bought a new position in Danaher in the third quarter worth about $555,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.05% of the company’s stock.

Danaher Price Performance

Shares of DHR opened at $210.15 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $150.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.82. The business’s 50-day moving average is $215.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $237.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.40. Danaher Co. has a fifty-two week low of $196.80 and a fifty-two week high of $281.70.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The conglomerate reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.14. Danaher had a return on equity of 10.82% and a net margin of 16.33%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.09 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Investors of record on Friday, March 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. This is an increase from Danaher’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.61%. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio is 24.24%.

Insider Activity at Danaher

In other news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 5,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 20,230 shares in the company, valued at $4,534,149.90. This trade represents a 21.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 11.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on DHR shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Danaher from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, March 21st. Guggenheim began coverage on shares of Danaher in a report on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $275.00 price target on the stock. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Danaher from $277.00 to $268.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $277.00 target price (down from $299.00) on shares of Danaher in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Danaher from $285.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Danaher has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $278.24.

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.