Korea Investment CORP Sells 2,259 Shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. $TMO

Korea Investment CORP lessened its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 256,722 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 2,259 shares during the quarter. Korea Investment CORP owned approximately 0.07% of Thermo Fisher Scientific worth $124,515,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 33,789,164 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $13,700,154,000 after acquiring an additional 309,207 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 2nd quarter worth $2,264,615,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 11.3% during the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,897,546 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,985,759,000 after purchasing an additional 498,238 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 54.7% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,571,857 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,732,422,000 after purchasing an additional 1,262,967 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 2.6% during the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,000,562 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,216,612,000 after buying an additional 74,971 shares during the last quarter. 89.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on TMO shares. KeyCorp raised Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $750.00 price target for the company in a research note on Sunday, December 7th. Robert W. Baird set a $653.00 price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a report on Friday, January 30th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $615.00 target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a report on Friday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $685.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $683.00 price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research note on Friday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $633.68.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Performance

Shares of TMO opened at $501.72 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $186.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.28, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.96. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a twelve month low of $385.46 and a twelve month high of $643.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a current ratio of 1.89. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $567.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $548.67.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The medical research company reported $6.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.45 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $12.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.95 billion. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a net margin of 15.05% and a return on equity of 16.92%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $6.10 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 23.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a $0.47 dividend. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. This is a positive change from Thermo Fisher Scientific’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.70%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $512.40, for a total transaction of $2,562,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 123,925 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $63,499,170. This trade represents a 3.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $541.20, for a total transaction of $216,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 20,752 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,230,982.40. This represents a 1.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Thermo Fisher Scientific

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE: TMO) is a global provider of scientific instrumentation, reagents and consumables, software, and services that support research, clinical, and industrial laboratories. The company supplies analytical instruments and laboratory equipment, life sciences reagents and kits, specialty diagnostics, and a broad range of consumables used by researchers, clinicians, and manufacturers. Its offerings also include laboratory information management and data-analysis software, as well as service solutions such as instrument maintenance, validation, and logistics that help customers run complex workflows efficiently.

Thermo Fisher operates through multiple business areas that broadly cover life sciences solutions, analytical instruments, specialty diagnostics, and laboratory products and biopharma services, including contract development and manufacturing for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.