Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. Grows Stake in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. grew its holdings in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 49.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 909,707 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 301,512 shares during the quarter. Danaher makes up about 2.0% of Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P.’s holdings in Danaher were worth $227,172,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Alpine Global Management LLC purchased a new position in Danaher during the third quarter valued at $1,489,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in Danaher by 8.5% during the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 855 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $212,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA raised its stake in Danaher by 7.9% during the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 53,766 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $13,339,000 after buying an additional 3,954 shares during the last quarter. Akaris Global Partners LP raised its stake in Danaher by 67.2% during the third quarter. Akaris Global Partners LP now owns 102,500 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $25,430,000 after buying an additional 41,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Danaher by 3.1% during the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 10,983 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,725,000 after buying an additional 331 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.05% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Alan G. Spoon sold 708 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.58, for a total value of $172,454.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 116,202 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,304,483.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Danaher news, Director Alan G. Spoon sold 708 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.58, for a total transaction of $172,454.64. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 116,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,304,483.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.01, for a total value of $1,000,040.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 29,830 shares in the company, valued at $7,457,798.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 148,783 shares of company stock worth $37,536,717. Insiders own 10.90% of the company’s stock.

Danaher Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of DHR traded down $4.24 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $240.27. 319,883 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,838,428. The stock has a market cap of $177.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.44, a P/E/G ratio of 3.82 and a beta of 0.84. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $255.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $246.75. Danaher Co. has a 12 month low of $182.09 and a 12 month high of $269.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.85 and a quick ratio of 1.51.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last posted 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 return on equity of 11.43% and a net margin of 16.78%. The company had revenue of $5.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.62 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.36 earnings per share. Danaher’s revenue was down 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 28th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.45%. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.31%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on DHR. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Danaher in a report on Monday, June 3rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $295.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com lowered Danaher from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Danaher from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Danaher from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on Danaher from $258.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $269.29.

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.