Weitz Investment Management Inc. Takes Position in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. $TMO

Weitz Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 115,200 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $57,757,000. Thermo Fisher Scientific accounts for approximately 4.0% of Weitz Investment Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the second quarter worth $61,080,000. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 2nd quarter worth about $541,000. W1M Asset Management Ltd acquired a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the second quarter worth approximately $408,009,000. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co bought a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,193,000. Finally, George Kaiser Family Foundation acquired a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the second quarter valued at approximately $409,000. 89.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Michael D. Shafer sold 25,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.00, for a total value of $15,300,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 20,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,596,400. This represents a 54.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Joseph R. Holmes sold 420 shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $584.81, for a total value of $245,620.20. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 2,966 shares in the company, valued at $1,734,546.46. The trade was a 12.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 63,493 shares of company stock worth $37,657,681. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

TMO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $630.00 price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $675.00 to $615.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 8th. Evercore set a $570.00 target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific in a report on Monday, July 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research note on Friday, June 26th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $520.00 price target for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $650.00 price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Thermo Fisher Scientific presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $619.41.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of TMO opened at $629.02 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $542.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $509.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $232.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.85. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 12-month low of $435.27 and a 12-month high of $643.99.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $6.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.71 by $0.32. The company had revenue of $11.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.71 billion. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a return on equity of 17.09% and a net margin of 15.04%.Thermo Fisher Scientific’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.28 EPS. Thermo Fisher Scientific has set its FY 2026 guidance at 24.930-25.330 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 25.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be issued a $0.47 dividend. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s payout ratio is 10.11%.

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.