Danaher (NYSE:DHR) Upgraded to “Overweight” at Barclays

Barclays upgraded shares of Danaher (NYSE:DHR) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a research report report published on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has $205.00 target price on the conglomerate’s stock, down from their prior target price of $240.00.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $277.00 price target (down previously from $299.00) on shares of Danaher in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Scotiabank began coverage on Danaher in a report on Monday, December 23rd. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $265.00 target price on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised Danaher from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, March 14th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Danaher in a research report on Monday. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Danaher from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $276.57.

Danaher Stock Performance

NYSE:DHR opened at $180.64 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $129.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Danaher has a 52 week low of $171.00 and a 52 week high of $281.70. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $204.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $230.46.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The conglomerate reported $2.14 earnings per share (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 period last year, the company posted $2.09 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Danaher will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The business 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 represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.71%. This is a positive change from Danaher’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.24%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Danaher

In other 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 value of $1,277,541.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 20,230 shares of the company’s stock, 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 document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 11.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Danaher

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund lifted its stake in shares of Danaher by 11.6% in the 4th quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 21,233 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $4,874,000 after acquiring an additional 2,202 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC lifted its position in Danaher by 1,212.8% in the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 2,770 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $636,000 after purchasing an additional 2,559 shares during the period. Generate Investment Management Ltd purchased a new stake in Danaher in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $8,044,000. Compass Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Danaher by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Compass Capital Management Inc. now owns 237,922 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $54,615,000 after purchasing an additional 10,994 shares during the period. Finally, Channing Global Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Danaher by 42.8% during the 4th quarter. Channing Global Advisors LLC now owns 5,666 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,301,000 after buying an additional 1,698 shares in the last quarter. 79.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Danaher Company 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.