Candriam S.C.A. Decreases Stock Holdings in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

Candriam S.C.A. trimmed its holdings in shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 20.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 409,474 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 104,048 shares during the quarter. Candriam S.C.A. owned 0.06% of Danaher worth $102,302,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DHR. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. increased its position in Danaher by 3.4% during the second quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. now owns 1,230 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $307,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co of Kansas boosted its holdings in shares of Danaher by 4.1% in the second quarter. Trust Co of Kansas now owns 1,022 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $255,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. grew its position in Danaher by 0.7% during the second quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. now owns 5,439 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,359,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. increased its holdings in Danaher by 1.4% during the first quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 2,880 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $719,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Godsey & Gibb Inc. raised its position in Danaher by 3.0% in the first quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 1,442 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $360,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. 79.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Danaher Stock Up 0.6 %

NYSE:DHR opened at $266.19 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $197.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.12, a P/E/G ratio of 4.43 and a beta of 0.83. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $261.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $255.73. Danaher Co. has a fifty-two week low of $182.09 and a fifty-two week high of $281.70.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.15. Danaher had a return on equity of 11.06% and a net margin of 16.94%. The business had revenue of $5.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.59 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.05 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Danaher Co. will post 7.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Danaher

In other news, CFO Matthew Mcgrew sold 16,172 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.84, for a total value of $4,525,572.48. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 29,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,229,254.88. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 9,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.16, for a total transaction of $2,641,536.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 20,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,566,486.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Matthew Mcgrew sold 16,172 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.84, for a total transaction of $4,525,572.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 29,407 shares in the company, valued at $8,229,254.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 39,659 shares of company stock worth $11,042,433. Company insiders own 11.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on DHR shares. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Danaher from $266.00 to $260.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of Danaher in a research note on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Danaher from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Danaher in a research note on Monday, June 3rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $295.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Danaher from $271.00 to $278.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $278.94.

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.