Citadel Investment Advisory Inc. Cuts Stake in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

Citadel Investment Advisory Inc. cut its stake in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,398 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 50 shares during the quarter. Citadel Investment Advisory Inc.’s holdings in Danaher were worth $1,056,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC purchased a new position in Danaher in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Freedom Wealth Alliance LLC purchased a new position in Danaher in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Chelsea Counsel Co. purchased a new position in Danaher in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Silicon Valley Capital Partners acquired a new stake in shares of Danaher during the first quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Stone House Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Danaher during the first quarter valued at about $32,000. 76.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Teri List sold 3,490 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $263.30, for a total transaction of $918,917.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 17,494 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,606,170.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Danaher news, Director Teri List sold 3,490 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $263.30, for a total value of $918,917.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 17,494 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,606,170.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Joakim Weidemanis sold 22,439 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $263.42, for a total value of $5,910,881.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 88,689 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,362,456.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 47,922 shares of company stock valued at $12,552,233. Insiders own 11.10% of the company’s stock.

Danaher Stock Performance

DHR stock traded up $1.77 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $255.25. The company 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. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $253.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $245.09. Danaher Co. has a fifty-two week low of $221.22 and a fifty-two week high of $283.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $188.46 billion, a PE ratio of 29.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.80.

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

Danaher Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on DHR shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Danaher from $260.00 to $292.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 26th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Danaher from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 26th. Bank of America raised their target price on Danaher from $250.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 26th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Danaher in a research note on Tuesday, September 12th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price target on Danaher from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 26th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $289.79.

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; lab filtration, separation, and purification; lab-scale protein purification and analytical tools; reagents, membranes and services; and healthcare filtration solutions.