Short Interest in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) Expands By 29.2%

Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 6,330,000 shares, a growth of 29.2% from the August 15th total of 4,900,000 shares. Currently, 0.9% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 2,740,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.3 days.

Danaher Trading Up 0.7 %

NYSE DHR traded up $1.77 on Friday, hitting $255.25. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,696,631 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,877,042. The company has a quick ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 2.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Danaher has a 1-year low of $221.22 and a 1-year high of $283.63. The company’s 50-day moving average is $252.96 and its 200 day moving average is $245.06. The firm has a market cap of $188.46 billion, a PE ratio of 29.96, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.80.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 25th. The conglomerate reported $2.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.04. Danaher had a net margin of 20.95% and a return on equity of 15.03%. The firm had revenue of $7.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.76 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Danaher will post 8.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 12th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 11th. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.68%.

Insider Transactions at Danaher

In related news, SVP Daniel Raskas sold 11,213 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.65, for a total value of $2,922,668.45. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 38,288 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,979,767.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, SVP Jose-Carlos Gutierrez-Ramos sold 590 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.54, for a total value of $147,818.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 6,939 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,738,497.06. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Daniel Raskas sold 11,213 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.65, for a total transaction of $2,922,668.45. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 38,288 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,979,767.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 47,922 shares of company stock worth $12,552,233 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 11.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Danaher

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. IMS Capital Management increased its position in shares of Danaher by 0.4% during the second quarter. IMS Capital Management now owns 11,046 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $2,651,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Danaher by 6.7% in the second quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,920 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $461,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in Danaher in the second quarter worth $677,000. Westshore Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Danaher in the second quarter worth $269,000. Finally, Portside Wealth Group LLC acquired a new stake in Danaher in the second quarter worth $4,973,000. 76.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Danaher from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 26th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Danaher from $260.00 to $292.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 26th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Danaher from $250.00 to $280.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 26th. Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Danaher from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 26th. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Danaher in a report on Tuesday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Danaher has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $289.79.

About Danaher

Danaher Corporation designs, manufactures, and markets professional, medical, industrial, and commercial products and services worldwide. The Biotechnology segments offers bioprocess technologies, consumables, and services; lab filtration, separation, and purification; lab-scale protein purification and analytical tools; reagents, membranes and services; and healthcare filtration solutions.