Sivik Global Healthcare LLC Trims Stock Position in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

Sivik Global Healthcare LLC lowered its stake in shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 9.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 25,000 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 2,500 shares during the quarter. Danaher comprises about 2.4% of Sivik Global Healthcare LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest position. Sivik Global Healthcare LLC’s holdings in Danaher were worth $5,784,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Banco Santander S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Danaher in the 3rd quarter worth $683,000. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. lifted its stake in shares of Danaher by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 26,611 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $6,156,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Cercano Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Danaher by 11.4% during the 4th quarter. Cercano Management LLC now owns 202,569 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $46,862,000 after purchasing an additional 20,715 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in Danaher by 48.1% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 296,996 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $68,707,000 after purchasing an additional 96,395 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its holdings in Danaher by 4.8% in the third quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 3,080 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $764,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the period. 79.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Danaher from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Danaher from $258.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Barclays boosted their price target on Danaher from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Danaher from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Danaher from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Danaher has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $269.64.

Danaher Stock Performance

Shares of DHR traded down $0.16 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $246.66. The stock had a trading volume of 3,940,969 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,785,271. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The company has a market cap of $182.70 billion, a PE ratio of 41.81, a PEG ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 0.83. Danaher Co. has a fifty-two week low of $182.09 and a fifty-two week high of $259.00. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $248.78 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $231.79.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.20. Danaher had a net margin of 16.78% and a return on equity of 11.43%. The company had revenue of $5.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.62 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.36 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 28th were issued a $0.27 dividend. This is an increase from Danaher’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.44%. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.31%.

Insider Activity at Danaher

In related news, SVP Georgeann Couchara sold 2,622 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.67, for a total value of $636,280.74. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,244 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,029,891.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Danaher news, EVP Joakim Weidemanis sold 22,433 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.46, for a total transaction of $5,618,569.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 90,412 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,644,589.52. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Georgeann Couchara sold 2,622 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.67, for a total value of $636,280.74. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,244 shares in the company, valued at $1,029,891.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 106,565 shares of company stock worth $26,641,364 in the last 90 days. 10.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Danaher Company 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 that advance, accelerate, and integrate the development and manufacture of therapeutics; cell line and cell culture media development services; cell culture media, process liquids and buffers for manufacturing, chromatography resins, filtration technologies, aseptic fill finish; single-use hardware and consumables and services, such as the design and installation of full manufacturing suites; lab filtration, separation, and purification; lab-scale protein purification and analytical tools; reagents, membranes, and services; and healthcare filtration solutions.