Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) Shares Sold by Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund cut its holdings in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 10.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 102,772 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 12,600 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in Danaher were worth $23,591,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of DHR. AMF Tjanstepension AB acquired a new stake in shares of Danaher during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $5,923,000. Howard Capital Management Group LLC raised its holdings in Danaher by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 1,229 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $342,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Danaher by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,637 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $455,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Danaher by 40,196.5% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 429,964 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $119,539,000 after buying an additional 428,897 shares during the period. Finally, Dakota Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Danaher by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 8,161 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,269,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the period. 79.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Danaher Stock Performance

NYSE DHR opened at $209.86 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The company has a market capitalization of $151.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.83. Danaher Co. has a 12-month low of $196.80 and a 12-month high of $281.70. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $226.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $246.96.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The conglomerate reported $2.14 earnings per share (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 in the previous year, the business posted $2.09 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current 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 paid a $0.32 dividend. This is a positive change from Danaher’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.61%. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.45%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on DHR shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $277.00 price target (down from $299.00) on shares of Danaher in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Wolfe Research raised Danaher from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $285.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Raymond James restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Danaher in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $250.00 price objective on Danaher in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Guggenheim began coverage on Danaher in a report on Thursday, December 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $275.00 target price on the stock. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Danaher currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $278.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 5,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.13, for a total value of $1,277,541.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 20,230 shares in the company, valued at $4,534,149.90. This represents a 21.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 11.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.