Franklin Resources Inc. Purchases 637,666 Shares of Danaher Corporation $DHR

Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) by 14.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,931,303 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 637,666 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Danaher were worth $1,128,874,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Danaher in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Danaher in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Danaher in the third quarter worth $25,000. WFA of San Diego LLC bought a new position in shares of Danaher in the second quarter worth $26,000. Finally, ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd bought a new position in shares of Danaher in the third quarter worth $27,000. 79.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on DHR. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $245.00 price target on shares of Danaher in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. DZ Bank began coverage on Danaher in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $210.00 price target for the company. HSBC cut their price target on Danaher from $270.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Danaher in a report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Danaher from $240.00 to $212.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Danaher has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.14.

Danaher Price Performance

NYSE:DHR opened at $184.45 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $130.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.81. Danaher Corporation has a 52-week low of $160.93 and a 52-week high of $242.80. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $181.29 and a 200 day moving average of $206.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a current ratio of 1.87.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 20th. The conglomerate reported $2.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $5.95 billion during 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 quarter last year, the company earned $1.88 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Danaher Corporation will post 8.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 26th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.95%.

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.