California Public Employees Retirement System Cuts Position in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. $TMO

California Public Employees Retirement System decreased its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 755,649 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 7,783 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned approximately 0.20% of Thermo Fisher Scientific worth $366,505,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 17.0% in the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,541,741 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,232,795,000 after purchasing an additional 369,975 shares in the last quarter. Holt Capital Advisors L.L.C. dba Holt Capital Partners L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 0.7% during the third quarter. Holt Capital Advisors L.L.C. dba Holt Capital Partners L.P. now owns 2,960 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,436,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Perissos Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the third quarter valued at about $213,000. Creative Planning boosted its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 9.9% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 122,796 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $59,558,000 after acquiring an additional 11,027 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 43.2% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 155,608 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $72,433,000 after purchasing an additional 46,918 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.23% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Thermo Fisher Scientific

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

Thermo Fisher Scientific Trading Down 2.5%

Shares of NYSE TMO opened at $463.99 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $172.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.15, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.96. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $557.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $548.59. The company has a quick ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 1.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 52-week low of $385.46 and a 52-week high of $643.99.

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

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.47 per share. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a 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 (DPR) is currently 9.70%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on TMO. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $660.00 to $685.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $583.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $696.00 to $683.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $615.00 target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research note on Friday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Thermo Fisher Scientific presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $633.68.

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.