Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) Stock Has Consensus Target Price of $242.91 According to Analysts

Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-three analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eighteen have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $242.91.

A number of research firms have weighed in on DHR. DZ Bank cut Danaher from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 27th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Danaher in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Danaher from $246.00 to $254.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded Danaher from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Danaher from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 12th.

Danaher Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of DHR stock opened at $230.34 on Wednesday. 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 cap of $162.05 billion, a PE ratio of 37.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a 50-day moving average of $220.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $201.60. Danaher has a 1-year low of $160.93 and a 1-year high of $242.80.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last posted its 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. The firm had revenue of $6.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.56 billion. Danaher had a return on equity of 11.17% and a net margin of 16.91%. Danaher’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.89 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Danaher will post 8.59 EPS for the current year.

Danaher Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Christopher Bouda sold 7,598 shares of Danaher stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.56, for a total transaction of $1,782,186.88. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 9,107 shares in the company, valued at $2,136,137.92. This trade represents a 45.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 10.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Danaher

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Main Street Group LTD acquired a new stake in Danaher during the first quarter worth $25,000. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Danaher in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Danaher by 192.1% during the 3rd quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 111 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. Field & Main Bank acquired a new position in shares of Danaher in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Solstein Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Danaher in the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.05% of the company’s stock.

Danaher Company Profile

Danaher is a global science and technology company that develops and supplies products and services for biotechnology, life sciences, and diagnostics markets. Its offerings include instruments, reagents, consumables, software, and services used in research, drug development and manufacturing, and clinical testing.

The company’s businesses include well-known brands such as Cytiva and Pall in bioprocessing and filtration, Beckman Coulter in laboratory and clinical diagnostics, Cepheid in molecular diagnostics, and Leica Microsystems in microscopy.