Short Interest in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) Grows By 6.2%

Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 7,010,000 shares, an increase of 6.2% from the August 31st total of 6,600,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,750,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.5 days. Approximately 1.1% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Danaher Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of DHR stock traded down $3.48 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $274.54. 1,367,211 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,784,547. The firm has a market capitalization of $203.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.55 and a beta of 0.83. Danaher has a 52-week low of $182.09 and a 52-week high of $281.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $270.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $258.06.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $5.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.59 billion. Danaher had a return on equity of 11.06% and a net margin of 16.94%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.05 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Danaher will post 7.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 27th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 27th. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on DHR. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Danaher from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Leerink Partners increased their target price on Danaher from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Danaher from $271.00 to $278.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Stephens initiated coverage on Danaher in a research note on Tuesday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $315.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Danaher from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Danaher presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $282.12.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Rainer Blair sold 9,007 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total transaction of $2,521,960.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 97,983 shares in the company, valued at $27,435,240. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Danaher news, CEO Rainer Blair sold 9,007 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total value of $2,521,960.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 97,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,435,240. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Georgeann Couchara sold 952 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.37, for a total value of $255,488.24. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,212 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,130,374.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 39,659 shares of company stock valued at $11,042,433 in the last three months. 11.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Danaher

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in DHR. Gilbert & Cook Inc. lifted its holdings in Danaher by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 1,830 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $423,000 after buying an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Accretive Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Danaher by 12.9% during the fourth quarter. Accretive Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,632 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $840,000 after buying an additional 414 shares during the period. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC raised its holdings in Danaher by 19.1% in the fourth quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,917 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $675,000 after acquiring an additional 468 shares in the last quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC purchased a new position in Danaher in the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,412,000. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Danaher during the 4th quarter worth approximately $392,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.05% of the company’s stock.

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.