Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Purchases 7,033 Shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. $TMO

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 1.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 717,840 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,033 shares during the period. Thermo Fisher Scientific comprises about 1.4% of Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $348,170,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Insider Activity at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In related news, COO Michel Lagarde sold 22,046 shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $563.56, for a total value of $12,424,243.76. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 84,117 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,404,976.52. The trade was a 20.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $541.20, for a total value of $216,480.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 20,752 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,230,982.40. This trade represents a 1.89% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 108,996 shares of company stock worth $63,355,935. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on TMO. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $656.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Citigroup boosted their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $660.00 to $685.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Robert W. Baird set a $653.00 price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific in a report on Friday, January 30th. 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 report on Sunday, December 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $685.00 price objective on the stock. One investment 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Thermo Fisher Scientific presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $633.68.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:TMO opened at $510.96 on Friday. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 1 year low of $385.46 and a 1 year high of $643.99. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $579.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $545.98. The company has a market cap of $191.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.80, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.89 and a quick ratio of 1.53.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The medical research company reported $6.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.45 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $12.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.95 billion. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a return on equity of 16.92% and a net margin of 15.05%.Thermo Fisher Scientific’s revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $6.10 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 23.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, November 6th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the medical research company to purchase up to 2.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.