Parnassus Investments LLC Decreases Stock Position in Danaher Corporation $DHR

Parnassus Investments LLC lessened its holdings in Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) by 24.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,664,560 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 1,506,544 shares during the period. Danaher comprises 2.8% of Parnassus Investments LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Parnassus Investments LLC’s holdings in Danaher were worth $1,067,811,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Canopy Partners LLC grew its position in Danaher by 9.6% in the fourth quarter. Canopy Partners LLC now owns 2,605 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $596,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Danaher by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 129,510 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $29,647,000 after purchasing an additional 847 shares in the last quarter. SmartHarvest Portfolios LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Danaher during the fourth quarter valued at about $580,000. Lyell Wealth Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Danaher by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Lyell Wealth Management LP now owns 2,436 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $558,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Primecap Management Co. CA boosted its stake in shares of Danaher by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 1,480,720 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $338,966,000 after purchasing an additional 30,800 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.05% of the company’s stock.

Danaher Price Performance

Danaher stock opened at $180.65 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $181.15 and its 200 day moving average is $204.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.87 and a quick ratio of 1.52. The firm has a market cap of $127.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.81. Danaher Corporation has a one year low of $160.93 and a one year high of $242.80.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 20th. The conglomerate reported $2.06 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $5.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6 billion. Danaher had a return on equity of 10.91% and a net margin of 14.89%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.88 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Danaher Corporation will post 8.43 EPS for the current year.

Danaher Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Investors of record on Friday, June 26th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 26th. Danaher’s payout ratio is currently 30.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Guggenheim cut their price target on Danaher from $275.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Wolfe Research lowered Danaher from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 price target on shares of Danaher in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Danaher from $251.00 to $249.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Danaher in a research note on Friday, March 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Danaher currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $233.61.

About Danaher

Danaher Corporation (NYSE: DHR) is a global science and technology company that designs, manufactures and markets products and services for the life sciences, diagnostics, and environmental and applied markets. The company organizes its operations into business segments focused on Life Sciences, Diagnostics, and Environmental & Applied Solutions, supplying instruments, reagents, software and related services that support research, clinical testing, biopharmaceutical development, and industrial and environmental monitoring.

Products and services in Danaher’s portfolio include analytical and diagnostic instruments, laboratory consumables and reagents, digital and software solutions for workflow and data management, field and industrial monitoring equipment, and service and maintenance programs.