Kovack Advisors Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

Kovack Advisors Inc. lessened its position in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 19.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,150 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 269 shares during the period. Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Danaher were worth $266,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Danaher during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Danaher during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in Danaher in the third quarter worth $30,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Danaher during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new position in Danaher in the 4th quarter worth $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.05% of the company’s stock.

Danaher Price Performance

DHR opened at $246.82 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $248.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $231.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 1.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $182.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.83, a P/E/G ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 0.83. Danaher Co. has a 52-week low of $182.09 and a 52-week high of $259.00.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.20. Danaher had a net margin of 16.78% and a return on equity of 11.43%. The company had revenue of $5.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.36 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. This is a boost from Danaher’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.44%. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio is 18.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on DHR shares. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Danaher from $254.00 to $282.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. StockNews.com downgraded Danaher from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Citigroup raised their target price on Danaher from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. KeyCorp upped their price target on Danaher from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Raymond James raised their price objective on Danaher from $240.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $269.64.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Georgeann Couchara sold 2,622 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.67, for a total value of $636,280.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,244 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,029,891.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, Director Teri List sold 3,289 shares of Danaher stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.32, for a total value of $816,724.48. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 19,726 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,898,360.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Georgeann Couchara sold 2,622 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.67, for a total value of $636,280.74. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,244 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,029,891.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 106,565 shares of company stock worth $26,641,364 in the last three months. Company insiders own 11.10% of the company’s stock.

Danaher Company 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.