Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. Decreases Holdings in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. cut its holdings in shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 31.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 321 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 150 shares during the quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd.’s holdings in Danaher were worth $74,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Danaher during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Danaher during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Danaher during the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. First Capital Advisors Group LLC. bought a new position in shares of Danaher during the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. Finally, BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. bought a new position in shares of Danaher during the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. 79.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Danaher Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DHR opened at $240.35 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $177.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.61, a P/E/G ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Danaher Co. has a 1-year low of $182.09 and a 1-year high of $259.00. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $249.42 and its 200 day moving average is $229.79.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The conglomerate reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.91 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $6.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.10 billion. Danaher had a return on equity of 12.25% and a net margin of 17.26%. Danaher’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.87 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Danaher Co. will post 7.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.45%. This is a boost from Danaher’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 27th. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.90%.

Insider Activity at Danaher

In other Danaher news, Director Teri List sold 3,289 shares of Danaher stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.32, for a total value of $816,724.48. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 19,726 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,898,360.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Danaher news, Director Teri List sold 3,289 shares of Danaher stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.32, for a total value of $816,724.48. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 19,726 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,898,360.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Daniel Raskas sold 23,757 shares of Danaher stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $252.00, for a total value of $5,986,764.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 38,102 shares in the company, valued at $9,601,704. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 32,957 shares of company stock valued at $8,265,802. Corporate insiders own 10.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Danaher from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Barclays raised their target price on Danaher from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Danaher from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 20th. Raymond James raised their target price on Danaher from $240.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on Danaher from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $267.43.

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.