Danaher (NYSE:DHR) Issues Earnings Results

Danaher (NYSE:DHR – Get Rating) released its earnings results on Tuesday. The conglomerate reported $2.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.45 by $0.42, RTT News reports. The company had revenue of $8.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.90 billion. Danaher had a net margin of 21.65% and a return on equity of 18.33%. The company’s revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.69 EPS.

Danaher Price Performance

Shares of DHR opened at $271.58 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $197.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.82. Danaher has a twelve month low of $233.71 and a twelve month high of $303.82. The company has a 50 day moving average of $266.13 and a 200-day moving average of $268.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

Danaher Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 29th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.37%. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DHR has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Benchmark downgraded shares of Danaher from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $325.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Monday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Danaher from $350.00 to $315.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 21st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Danaher from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Danaher from $321.00 to $309.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Credit Suisse Group downgraded shares of Danaher from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $315.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Danaher has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $309.54.

Insider Transactions at Danaher

In other news, EVP Jennifer Honeycutt sold 8,211 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $265.00, for a total transaction of $2,175,915.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,162 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,897,930. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Georgeann Couchara sold 1,884 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.61, for a total value of $511,713.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,588 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $702,926.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Jennifer Honeycutt sold 8,211 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $265.00, for a total transaction of $2,175,915.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,162 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,897,930. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 38,538 shares of company stock valued at $10,424,284 in the last ninety days. 11.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Danaher

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Danaher by 3.4% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,260,664 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $956,451,000 after buying an additional 108,414 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in Danaher by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,133,661 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $332,537,000 after purchasing an additional 4,777 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service lifted its holdings in Danaher by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 915,684 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $240,047,000 after purchasing an additional 46,989 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in Danaher by 84.7% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 818,436 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $240,072,000 after purchasing an additional 375,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lifted its holdings in Danaher by 58.5% during the 1st quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 809,286 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $237,388,000 after purchasing an additional 298,787 shares during the last quarter. 77.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Danaher Company Profile

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Danaher Corp. operates as a medical company, which designs, manufactures, and markets professional, medical, industrial, and commercial products and services. It operates through the following segments: Life Sciences, Diagnostics, and Environmental & Applied Solutions. The Life Sciences segment offers a range of research tools that scientists use to study the basic building blocks of life, including genes, proteins, metabolites and cells, to understand the causes of disease, identify new therapies and test new drugs and vaccines.