Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) Shares Sold by Weiss Asset Management LP

Weiss Asset Management LP decreased its holdings in shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR – Get Rating) by 79.4% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 12,009 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 46,300 shares during the quarter. Weiss Asset Management LP’s holdings in Danaher were worth $3,102,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Danaher by 1.9% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 53,690,131 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $13,867,623,000 after purchasing an additional 995,501 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Danaher by 0.8% during the second quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 8,061,833 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $2,043,836,000 after purchasing an additional 65,824 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in Danaher by 6.4% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,656,373 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,180,485,000 after purchasing an additional 279,432 shares in the last quarter. Amundi raised its holdings in Danaher by 10.2% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 4,649,220 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,157,183,000 after purchasing an additional 431,694 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Danaher by 8.5% during the third quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 4,171,053 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,077,341,000 after purchasing an additional 328,151 shares in the last quarter. 77.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Danaher in a report on Tuesday, December 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $310.00 price target for the company. Credit Suisse Group cut shares of Danaher from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $315.00 to $300.00 in a report on Thursday, January 5th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Danaher from $277.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 24th. Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Danaher from $340.00 to $320.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Danaher from $321.00 to $309.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $310.29.

Insider Buying and Selling at Danaher

In other Danaher news, Director Raymond C. Stevens sold 8,410 shares of Danaher stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.27, for a total value of $2,222,510.70. Following the transaction, the director now owns 8,394 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,218,282.38. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 11.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Danaher Stock Down 2.6 %

Shares of NYSE DHR opened at $242.96 on Friday. Danaher Co. has a 1 year low of $233.71 and a 1 year high of $303.82. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $258.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $262.32. The firm has a market cap of $177.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a current ratio of 1.89.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 24th. The conglomerate reported $2.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.46 by $0.41. Danaher had a net margin of 22.91% and a return on equity of 17.97%. The firm had revenue of $8.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.69 earnings per share. Danaher’s revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Danaher Co. will post 10.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 31st will be issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 30th. This is a positive change from Danaher’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.36%.

About Danaher

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Danaher Corp. engages in the design, manufacture, and marketing of professional, medical, industrial, and commercial products and services. It operates through the following segments: Biotechnology, Life Sciences, Diagnostics, and Environmental and Applied Solutions. The Biotechnology segment includes the bioprocessing and discovery and medical businesses and offers a range of tools, consumables, and services.