Tredje AP fonden Acquires 23,968 Shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Tredje AP fonden increased its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 19.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 145,557 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 23,968 shares during the period. Tredje AP fonden’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $75,723,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Barrett & Company Inc. bought a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Missouri Trust & Investment Co bought a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. 89.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $516.67, for a total value of $5,166,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 115,174 shares in the company, valued at $59,506,950.58. This trade represents a 7.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $585.59, for a total value of $175,677.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,582,009.17. The trade was a 1.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 23,900 shares of company stock worth $13,106,062 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Performance

TMO opened at $512.94 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $549.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $560.46. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 1 year low of $493.30 and a 1 year high of $627.88. The company has a market capitalization of $193.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.29.

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

Thermo Fisher Scientific declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Friday, November 15th that allows the company to buyback $4.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the medical research company to reacquire up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.43 dividend. This is a boost from Thermo Fisher Scientific’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.34%. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.41%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Scotiabank increased their price objective on 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. UBS Group increased their price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $700.00 to $715.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com upgraded Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $667.00 price target (up previously from $650.00) on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada set a $693.00 price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Thermo Fisher Scientific presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $653.23.

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.