Cantillon Capital Management LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Cantillon Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 16.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 929,870 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 130,870 shares during the period. Thermo Fisher Scientific accounts for about 2.9% of Cantillon Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Cantillon Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $483,746,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the third quarter worth about $27,000. Barrett & Company Inc. purchased a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Missouri Trust & Investment Co purchased a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.23% of the company’s stock.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of TMO opened at $528.99 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $549.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $565.17. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $493.30 and a fifty-two week high of $627.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.66. The firm has a market cap of $199.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.00, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.77.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $6.10 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.94 by $0.16. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 17.51%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 23.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This is a positive change from Thermo Fisher Scientific’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.41%.

Thermo Fisher Scientific declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Friday, November 15th that authorizes the company to buyback $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the medical research company to purchase up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on TMO shares. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $675.00 to $660.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $630.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $700.00 to $715.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $605.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $656.86.

Insider Activity at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In other Thermo Fisher Scientific news, CFO Stephen Williamson sold 9,825 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $585.59, for a total transaction of $5,753,421.75. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 27,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,984,264.64. The trade was a 26.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed 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 on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $585.59, for a total transaction of $175,677.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,363 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,582,009.17. The trade was a 1.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 20,125 shares of company stock worth $11,231,699 in the last three months. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Company 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.