Pictet North America Advisors SA Has $2.79 Million Stock Position in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

Pictet North America Advisors SA boosted its holdings in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 64.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 12,169 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,755 shares during the period. Pictet North America Advisors SA’s holdings in Danaher were worth $2,793,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of DHR. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Danaher in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new position in Danaher during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Danaher in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of Danaher in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Danaher by 63.3% during the 4th quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC now owns 147 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the period. 79.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Danaher Stock Performance

Shares of DHR stock opened at $203.56 on Friday. Danaher Co. has a 52-week low of $196.80 and a 52-week high of $281.70. The stock has a market cap of $147.03 billion, a PE ratio of 38.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.83. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $230.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $250.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The conglomerate reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14. Danaher had a net margin of 16.33% and a return on equity of 10.82%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.09 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Danaher Co. will post 7.67 EPS for the current year.

Danaher Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th were issued a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 27th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.53%. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.45%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DHR has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com downgraded Danaher from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 14th. TD Cowen boosted 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. Raymond James reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Danaher in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Danaher from $277.00 to $268.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Danaher from $309.00 to $305.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $278.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 5,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.13, for a total value of $1,277,541.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 20,230 shares in the company, valued at $4,534,149.90. This represents a 21.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 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.