ExodusPoint Capital Management LP Takes $5.19 Million Position in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

ExodusPoint Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 22,622 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $5,193,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Danaher in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new stake in Danaher in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Danaher during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of Danaher during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Danaher by 63.3% during the 4th quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC now owns 147 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.05% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on DHR. Guggenheim started coverage on Danaher in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $275.00 price objective for the company. Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Danaher in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $265.00 price target for the company. Barclays lowered 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. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Danaher from $277.00 to $268.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Danaher from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 14th. 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, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $278.24.

Danaher Price Performance

NYSE:DHR opened at $181.42 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $209.99 and its 200 day moving average is $233.99. Danaher Co. has a 12 month low of $181.20 and a 12 month high of $281.70. The company has a market capitalization of $129.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.86. 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 posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The conglomerate reported $2.14 EPS 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 quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.09 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. 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 dividend yield of 0.71%. Danaher’s payout ratio is 24.24%.

Insider Activity

In other Danaher news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 5,700 shares of the business’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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 20,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,534,149.90. The trade was a 21.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available 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.