Danaher cuts dividend by 21.9% following Fortive spin-off

Danaher Corp (DHR) will cut its quarterly dividend to $0.125 per share. In February Danaher had raised its dividend for the third consecutive year.

The dividend cut is a surprise given the low payout ratio Danaher had, even following the Fortive spin-off.

Given the fact that Fortive initiated a $0.07 per share dividend this August, Danaher shareholders receive the same amount based on the estimated  annual $97 million payout by Fortive. If added to Danaher's current $344 million annual dividend the dividend stays unchanged from the amount prior to the Fortive spinoff.

However Danaher shareholders do get a dividend cut from $0.16 to $0.125 per share on a quarterly basis. It's remarkable that the management didn't decide to keep its quarterly payment unchanged because of the already low dividend yield and payout ratio

Recent headlines

The 10 biggest dividend cuts in the USA for 2024