Fisher Asset Management LLC Increases Stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 2.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,636,558 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 65,586 shares during the quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC owned 0.69% of Thermo Fisher Scientific worth $1,630,896,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BDF Gestion purchased a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 2nd quarter valued at $6,368,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 6.2% during 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. Simplify Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 67.4% in the third quarter. Simplify Asset Management Inc. now owns 13,770 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $8,518,000 after purchasing an additional 5,546 shares during the last quarter. Simmons Bank lifted its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 60.2% during the 3rd quarter. Simmons Bank now owns 8,224 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $5,087,000 after buying an additional 3,090 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ORG Partners LLC boosted its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 216.6% in the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 1,640 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $890,000 after buying an additional 1,122 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.23% of the company’s stock.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific stock opened at $513.26 on Monday. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 12-month low of $480.57 and a 12-month high of $627.88. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $575.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $580.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $196.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.18, a PEG ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.79.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The medical research company reported $5.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.25 by $0.03. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a return on equity of 17.49% and a net margin of 14.48%. The business had revenue of $10.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.63 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.69 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 21.67 EPS for the current year.

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

Thermo Fisher Scientific Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.30%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 9,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $552.86, for a total transaction of $4,975,740.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,076,178.88. This trade represents a 38.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $560.16, for a total value of $168,048.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,663 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,333,946.08. This represents a 1.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 37,150 shares of company stock valued at $20,651,865 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TMO has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $670.00 to $660.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research report on Monday, October 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $680.00 price target on the stock. Bernstein Bank upped their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $565.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $625.00 to $620.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $649.33.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Profile

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.