Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) Shares Purchased by Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC

Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC raised its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 140.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,093,866 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 639,467 shares during the period. Thermo Fisher Scientific accounts for approximately 1.9% of Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $569,062,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd grew its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 68.6% in the 4th quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 2,180 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,134,000 after acquiring an additional 887 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Bank Ltd. acquired a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the fourth quarter worth $57,000. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the fourth quarter valued at $57,107,000. Riverwater Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC now owns 1,812 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $943,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prudential PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 6,821 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,548,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on TMO. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $650.00 to $570.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. StockNews.com raised Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $667.00 target price (up from $650.00) on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada set a $693.00 price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $647.00 to $678.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Thermo Fisher Scientific currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $653.23.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the company’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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 115,174 shares in the company, valued at $59,506,950.58. This represents a 7.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Michael A. Boxer sold 3,775 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $532.52, for a total transaction of $2,010,263.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 10,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,759,736.32. This represents a 25.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 23,900 shares of company stock worth $13,106,062. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Trading Down 6.9 %

Thermo Fisher Scientific stock opened at $437.71 on Friday. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 1 year low of $437.22 and a 1 year high of $627.88. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $532.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $547.91. The firm has a market cap of $165.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.66.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $6.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.94 by $0.16. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a return on equity of 17.51% and a net margin of 14.78%. On average, 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Thermo Fisher Scientific’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s dividend payout ratio is 10.41%.

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.