ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. Acquires 1,131 Shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. $TMO

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. raised its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 1.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 83,679 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,131 shares during the period. Thermo Fisher Scientific makes up approximately 1.4% of ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $40,586,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. TIAA Trust National Association boosted its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 10.5% during the 2nd quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 123,948 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $50,256,000 after acquiring an additional 11,817 shares during the last quarter. Lombard Odier Asset Management Switzerland SA lifted its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 8.4% during the second quarter. Lombard Odier Asset Management Switzerland SA now owns 14,490 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $5,875,000 after purchasing an additional 1,128 shares in the last quarter. Caledonia Investments PLC grew its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 11.5% in the 2nd quarter. Caledonia Investments PLC now owns 111,767 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $45,299,000 after purchasing an additional 11,500 shares in the last quarter. Heritage Investors Management Corp lifted its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 9.6% during the 2nd quarter. Heritage Investors Management Corp now owns 56,587 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $22,944,000 after buying an additional 4,971 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LBP AM SA boosted its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 13.4% in the 2nd quarter. LBP AM SA now owns 261,038 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $105,840,000 after buying an additional 30,837 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on TMO shares. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $635.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $500.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Leerink Partners raised their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $545.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $656.00 to $670.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $616.60.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Price Performance

TMO opened at $581.50 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $572.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $501.13. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a twelve month low of $385.46 and a twelve month high of $610.97. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The company has a market capitalization of $218.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.59, a PEG ratio of 4.12 and a beta of 0.90.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $5.79 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.50 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $11.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.90 billion. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a net margin of 15.02% and a return on equity of 16.97%. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.28 EPS. Thermo Fisher Scientific has set its FY 2025 guidance at 22.600-22.860 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 23.28 EPS for the current year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be paid a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.94%.

Thermo Fisher Scientific announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback 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 reacquire up to 2.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In other news, EVP Frederick M. Lowery sold 6,913 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $597.68, for a total transaction of $4,131,761.84. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 14,367 shares in the company, valued at $8,586,868.56. This represents a 32.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 17,104 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $573.54, for a total transaction of $9,809,828.16. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 113,762 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,247,057.48. This represents a 13.07% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 149,271 shares of company stock worth $86,507,282. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.