Guinness Atkinson Asset Management Inc Increases Stock Position in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

Guinness Atkinson Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 4.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 26,611 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,234 shares during the period. Danaher makes up about 3.1% of Guinness Atkinson Asset Management Inc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Guinness Atkinson Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Danaher were worth $6,109,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Danaher during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America bought a new position in Danaher during the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Danaher during the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Danaher in the third quarter worth approximately $50,000. Finally, Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Danaher during the third quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Institutional investors own 79.05% of the company’s stock.

Danaher Stock Performance

NYSE:DHR opened at $238.41 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $234.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $253.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Danaher Co. has a 12-month low of $222.53 and a 12-month high of $281.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $172.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.50, a P/E/G ratio of 4.23 and a beta of 0.83.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.71 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $5.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.59 billion. Danaher had a net margin of 16.39% and a return on equity of 10.62%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.02 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Danaher Co. will post 7.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 27th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 27th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.45%. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on DHR shares. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Danaher from $275.00 to $278.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Danaher from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com downgraded Danaher from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, December 14th. Wolfe Research upgraded Danaher from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $285.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Danaher from $310.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $286.80.

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.