Value Partners Investments Inc. Sells 389 Shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

Value Partners Investments Inc. cut its stake in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 21.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,465 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 389 shares during the period. Value Partners Investments Inc.’s holdings in Danaher were worth $336,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Danaher during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new stake in Danaher during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Danaher during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new position in Danaher in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Danaher by 63.3% in the fourth quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC now owns 147 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.05% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Danaher

In other news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 5,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.13, for a total transaction of $1,277,541.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 20,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,534,149.90. This trade represents a 21.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 11.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on DHR shares. Barclays upgraded Danaher from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $240.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Thursday. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective 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. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $277.00 price target (down from $299.00) on shares of Danaher in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Danaher from $285.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Guggenheim initiated coverage on Danaher in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $275.00 price objective on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Danaher currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $276.57.

Danaher Price Performance

Shares of DHR opened at $188.75 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $134.90 billion, a PE ratio of 35.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.86. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $203.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $229.58. Danaher Co. has a 52-week low of $171.00 and a 52-week high of $281.70.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The conglomerate reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14. Danaher had a net margin of 16.33% and a return on equity of 10.82%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.09 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This is a boost from Danaher’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.24%.

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.