Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. Makes New Investment in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 4,749 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $1,186,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Danaher by 20.2% during the fourth quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 9,128 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,112,000 after buying an additional 1,533 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. increased its holdings in Danaher by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 26,611 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $6,156,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the period. Cercano Management LLC lifted its stake in Danaher by 11.4% in the 4th quarter. Cercano Management LLC now owns 202,569 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $46,862,000 after purchasing an additional 20,715 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in Danaher by 48.1% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 296,996 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $68,707,000 after purchasing an additional 96,395 shares during the period. Finally, Caden Capital Partners LP grew its position in shares of Danaher by 12.4% during the 4th quarter. Caden Capital Partners LP now owns 139,068 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $32,172,000 after purchasing an additional 15,313 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.05% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Alan G. Spoon sold 708 shares of Danaher stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.58, for a total transaction of $172,454.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 116,202 shares in the company, valued at $28,304,483.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Alan G. Spoon sold 708 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.58, for a total transaction of $172,454.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 116,202 shares in the company, valued at $28,304,483.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.01, for a total transaction of $1,000,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 29,830 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,457,798.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 148,783 shares of company stock worth $37,536,717. 11.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on DHR. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Danaher from $259.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Danaher from $258.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. StockNews.com cut shares of Danaher from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. HSBC raised shares of Danaher from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $250.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their target price on Danaher from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Danaher presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $269.29.

Danaher Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:DHR traded down $1.64 during trading on Friday, hitting $249.85. The stock had a trading volume of 4,638,276 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,371,169. The company has a market capitalization of $185.06 billion, a PE ratio of 42.35, a PEG ratio of 3.85 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $255.96 and its 200 day moving average is $246.61. Danaher Co. has a 12 month low of $182.09 and a 12 month high of $269.11.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.20. Danaher had a return on equity of 11.43% and a net margin of 16.78%. The business had revenue of $5.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.62 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.36 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 26th. Investors of record on Friday, June 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 28th. Danaher’s payout ratio is currently 18.31%.

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.