Taurus Asset Management LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Taurus Asset Management LLC decreased its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 1.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 51,978 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 576 shares during the period. Thermo Fisher Scientific makes up about 2.9% of Taurus Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Taurus Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $28,744,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,909,524,000. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 10.0% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 13,493,852 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $7,842,762,000 after acquiring an additional 1,231,059 shares during the period. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 1st quarter worth approximately $705,636,000. Veritas Asset Management LLP boosted its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 70.1% during the fourth quarter. Veritas Asset Management LLP now owns 1,692,148 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $898,175,000 after purchasing an additional 697,383 shares during the period. Finally, Winslow Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the fourth quarter worth approximately $333,786,000. Institutional investors own 89.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on TMO shares. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $648.00 to $658.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $660.00 to $664.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Raymond James upped their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $650.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $670.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $650.00 price target (up previously from $600.00) on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a report on Monday, June 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $630.41.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Price Performance

TMO stock opened at $611.17 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $233.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.20, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.78. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $592.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $580.16. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 52-week low of $415.60 and a 52-week high of $627.88.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The medical research company reported $5.37 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.13 by $0.24. The firm had revenue of $10.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.50 billion. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a return on equity of 18.22% and a net margin of 14.69%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.15 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 21.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.26%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.01%.

Insider Activity at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In other Thermo Fisher Scientific news, VP Lisa P. Britt sold 3,624 shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $613.02, for a total value of $2,221,584.48. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 13,699 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,397,760.98. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, VP Lisa P. Britt sold 3,624 shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $613.02, for a total value of $2,221,584.48. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 13,699 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,397,760.98. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Joseph R. Holmes sold 860 shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $611.03, for a total transaction of $525,485.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,108,408.42. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 23,084 shares of company stock valued at $14,094,292. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.