NFJ Investment Group LLC Cuts Stock Position in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

NFJ Investment Group LLC reduced its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 80,797 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 308 shares during the period. Thermo Fisher Scientific comprises approximately 1.3% of NFJ Investment Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 13th largest position. NFJ Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $42,033,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of TMO. Howard Capital Management Group LLC raised its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 0.5% in the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 54,575 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $33,759,000 after buying an additional 286 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 22.1% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,247,838 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $771,876,000 after acquiring an additional 225,568 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp lifted its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 113,347 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $70,113,000 after acquiring an additional 4,584 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 3rd quarter worth $638,000. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 1.7% in the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 11,366 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $7,031,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. 89.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Performance

NYSE TMO opened at $440.91 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $505.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $536.95. The firm has a market cap of $166.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.86. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a twelve month low of $409.85 and a twelve month high of $627.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 17.51%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 23.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.39%. This is a boost from Thermo Fisher Scientific’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s payout ratio is 10.41%.

Insider Activity at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In other news, CFO Stephen Williamson sold 9,825 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $585.59, for a total transaction of $5,753,421.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 27,296 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,984,264.64. This represents a 26.47 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $585.59, for a total transaction of $175,677.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,363 shares in the company, valued at $9,582,009.17. This represents a 1.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 23,900 shares of company stock valued at $13,106,062. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

TMO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada set a $693.00 price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific in a report on Friday, January 31st. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of 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. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $647.00 to $678.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $620.00 to $475.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $647.43.

About Thermo Fisher Scientific

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.