WBH Advisory Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

WBH Advisory Inc. cut its stake in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 10.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,611 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 308 shares during the period. WBH Advisory Inc.’s holdings in Danaher were worth $599,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Danaher by 20.8% during the 4th quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 2,586 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $594,000 after purchasing an additional 446 shares in the last quarter. Blue Zone Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Danaher by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Blue Zone Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 16,778 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $3,851,000 after acquiring an additional 885 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Danaher in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Principal Securities Inc. grew its stake in Danaher by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 14,979 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $3,438,000 after acquiring an additional 668 shares during the period. Finally, TigerOak Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in Danaher in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,250,000. 79.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Danaher Stock Performance

Shares of DHR opened at $206.66 on Tuesday. Danaher Co. has a 1 year low of $196.80 and a 1 year high of $281.70. The company has a market cap of $149.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.83. 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 fifty day moving average of $229.53 and a 200-day moving average of $249.13.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The conglomerate reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.14. Danaher had a net margin of 16.33% and a return on equity of 10.82%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.09 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Danaher Co. will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Danaher Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th were paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 27th. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.45%.

Insider Activity at Danaher

In related news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 5,700 shares of Danaher stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 20,230 shares in the company, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 11.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on DHR. Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Danaher in a report on Monday, December 23rd. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $265.00 price target on the stock. KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of Danaher from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Danaher from $280.00 to $240.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Danaher from $285.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Danaher from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 14th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $278.00.

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.