Danaher (NYSE:DHR) Stock Rating Lowered by DZ Bank

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) was downgraded by equities research analysts at DZ Bank from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Tuesday, Zacks reports.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on DHR. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Danaher from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Danaher from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $240.00 target price on shares of Danaher in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Danaher from $220.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Danaher from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 16th. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Danaher presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $242.91.

Danaher Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of Danaher stock opened at $233.72 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $218.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $201.81. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. Danaher has a twelve month low of $160.93 and a twelve month high of $242.80. The stock has a market cap of $164.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.76.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.92 by $0.19. Danaher had a return on equity of 11.17% and a net margin of 16.91%. The firm 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 firm earned $1.89 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Danaher will post 8.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Danaher

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DHR. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Danaher in the second quarter worth about $10,492,520,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Danaher by 10.4% during the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 16,316,834 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,108,031,000 after purchasing an additional 1,542,310 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new stake in Danaher during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,456,317,000. Generation Investment Management LLP purchased a new stake in Danaher during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,287,949,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in Danaher during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $993,846,000. 79.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Danaher Company Profile

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.