GTS Securities LLC Trims Stock Position in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

GTS Securities LLC decreased its position in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 89.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,747 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 41,218 shares during the period. GTS Securities LLC’s holdings in Danaher were worth $1,090,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Danaher during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Danaher during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Danaher during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in 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. Finally, Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Danaher during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.05% of the company’s stock.

Danaher Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of DHR opened at $184.79 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $132.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.80. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $195.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $215.48. Danaher Co. has a twelve month low of $171.00 and a twelve month high of $281.70.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.26. Danaher had a return on equity of 10.82% and a net margin of 16.33%. The business had revenue of $5.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.58 billion. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Danaher Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 27th will be given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.69%. Danaher’s payout ratio is currently 24.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on DHR shares. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Danaher from $260.00 to $240.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Danaher from $275.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Danaher in a report on Monday, April 7th. HSBC cut their price target on shares of Danaher from $270.00 to $240.00 in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Danaher in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Danaher presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $263.24.

Insider Buying and Selling at Danaher

In other news, Chairman Steven M. Rales sold 1,250,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $196.74, for a total value of $245,925,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 3,105,808 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $611,036,665.92. This represents a 28.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Christopher Paul Riley sold 15,805 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.00, for a total transaction of $3,129,390.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,179 shares in the company, valued at $3,005,442. This trade represents a 51.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 11.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.