Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) Shares Sold by 1620 Investment Advisors Inc.

1620 Investment Advisors Inc. lessened its position in shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 50.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 217 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 219 shares during the quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Danaher were worth $50,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Danaher during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new stake in Danaher during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Danaher during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Danaher in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Danaher by 63.3% in the fourth quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC now owns 147 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.05% of the company’s stock.

Danaher Price Performance

Shares of DHR opened at $211.63 on Friday. Danaher Co. has a 1-year low of $196.80 and a 1-year high of $281.70. The stock has a market cap of $151.26 billion, a PE ratio of 40.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.82. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $217.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $238.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 1.05.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The conglomerate reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting 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 firm earned $2.09 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Investors of record on Friday, March 28th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.60%. This is a boost from Danaher’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Danaher’s payout ratio is 24.24%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on DHR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Danaher from $310.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Guggenheim started coverage on shares of Danaher in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $275.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Danaher from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Danaher in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $265.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Danaher from $285.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $278.24.

Insider Activity at Danaher

In related news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 5,700 shares of Danaher stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 20,230 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 10.90% of the company’s stock.

Danaher 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.