Danaher Corporation $DHR Stock: Rakuten Investment Management Inc. Grows Holdings

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 113,353 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,620 shares during the quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Danaher were worth $25,630,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Gunderson Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Danaher during the 3rd quarter worth $765,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Danaher in the second quarter valued at about $3,807,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC raised its stake in Danaher by 181.9% in the third quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 40,855 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $9,051,000 after purchasing an additional 26,363 shares in the last quarter. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Danaher by 9.6% in the third quarter. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC now owns 40,549 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $8,984,000 after purchasing an additional 3,553 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Forbes J M & Co. LLP lifted its position in Danaher by 141.6% during the third quarter. Forbes J M & Co. LLP now owns 4,276 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $947,000 after purchasing an additional 2,506 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.05% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Danaher

In other Danaher news, CAO Christopher Bouda sold 7,598 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.56, for a total value of $1,782,186.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 9,107 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,136,137.92. This trade represents a 45.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 10.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Danaher Stock Performance

Shares of Danaher stock opened at $229.99 on Wednesday. Danaher Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $160.93 and a fifty-two week high of $242.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $161.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.76. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $219.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $201.70.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The conglomerate reported $2.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.92 by $0.19. Danaher had a net margin of 16.91% and a return on equity of 11.17%. The company had revenue of $6.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.56 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.89 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Danaher Corporation will post 8.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 30th. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DHR has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. DZ Bank downgraded shares of Danaher from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 27th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Danaher from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 12th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Danaher from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Danaher from $246.00 to $254.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of Danaher from $200.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 1st. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Danaher presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $242.91.

About Danaher

Danaher Corporation (NYSE: DHR) is a global science and technology company that develops products, services and solutions for the life sciences, biotechnology and diagnostics markets. Its offerings help researchers, pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, healthcare providers and other organizations conduct scientific research, develop and manufacture medicines, and diagnose disease.

The company operates through businesses that provide bioprocessing equipment and technologies, laboratory instruments, consumables, analytical tools and clinical diagnostic systems.