State of Alaska Department of Revenue Raises Holdings in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its position in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR – Get Rating) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 91,707 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 845 shares during the quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in Danaher were worth $24,340,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Danaher by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 53,690,131 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $13,867,623,000 after buying an additional 995,501 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Danaher by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 8,061,833 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $2,043,836,000 after buying an additional 65,824 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in shares of Danaher by 6.4% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,656,373 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,180,485,000 after buying an additional 279,432 shares during the period. Amundi raised its position in shares of Danaher by 10.2% in the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 4,649,220 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,157,183,000 after buying an additional 431,694 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Danaher by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 4,171,053 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,077,341,000 after buying an additional 328,151 shares during the period. 77.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Danaher Stock Down 2.6 %

NYSE:DHR traded down $6.38 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $242.96. The stock had a trading volume of 3,467,152 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,354,815. The company has a market capitalization of $177.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.80. Danaher Co. has a 1-year low of $233.71 and a 1-year high of $303.82. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $258.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $262.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.89 and a quick ratio of 1.52.

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

Danaher Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Danaher news, Director Raymond C. Stevens sold 8,410 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,218,282.38. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 11.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DHR has been the subject of several recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Danaher in a report on Tuesday, December 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $310.00 price target for the company. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Danaher from $321.00 to $309.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 25th. Barclays increased their price target on Danaher from $277.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 24th. Credit Suisse Group downgraded Danaher from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $315.00 to $300.00 in a report on Thursday, January 5th. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on Danaher in a report on Thursday. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $310.29.

Danaher Profile

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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.