Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) Shares Acquired by Retirement Systems of Alabama

Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 147.2% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 208,155 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 123,952 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $128,758,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of TMO. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 1.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,659,943 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $4,719,477,000 after purchasing an additional 127,564 shares during the period. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 11.4% during the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 9,705 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $5,972,000 after buying an additional 995 shares during the period. Greenwood Gearhart Inc. lifted its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 9.8% in the third quarter. Greenwood Gearhart Inc. now owns 20,579 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $12,730,000 after acquiring an additional 1,837 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 6.2% in the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 140,708 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $87,093,000 after purchasing an additional 8,180 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Trail Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 29.2% during the third quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 5,378 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,329,000 after buying an additional 1,214 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.23% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In other news, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $554.29, for a total transaction of $5,542,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 121,192 shares in the company, valued at $67,175,513.68. The trade was a 7.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $560.16, for a total transaction of $168,048.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,663 shares in the company, valued at $9,333,946.08. The trade was a 1.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 47,150 shares of company stock valued at $25,954,465 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

TMO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $670.00 to $660.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $632.00 to $622.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $680.00 to $665.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $630.00 to $620.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research note on Monday, October 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $680.00 price target on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $649.33.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Down 1.8 %

TMO opened at $524.86 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.26. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 12 month low of $493.30 and a 12 month high of $627.88. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $551.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $574.11. The stock has a market cap of $200.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.91, a P/E/G ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.77.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The medical research company reported $5.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.25 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $10.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.63 billion. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a net margin of 14.48% and a return on equity of 17.49%. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.69 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 21.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Friday, November 15th that allows the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the medical research company to purchase up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.30%. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.78%.

About Thermo Fisher Scientific

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc provides life sciences solutions, analytical instruments, specialty diagnostics, and laboratory products and biopharma services in the North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and internationally. The company's Life Sciences Solutions segment offers reagents, instruments, and consumables for biological and medical research, discovery, and production of drugs and vaccines, as well as diagnosis of infections and diseases; and solutions include biosciences, genetic sciences, and bio production to pharmaceutical, biotechnology, agricultural, clinical, healthcare, academic, and government markets.