Zhang Financial LLC Increases Stock Position in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Zhang Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 13.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 426 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 52 shares during the quarter. Zhang Financial LLC’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $222,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,659,943 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,719,477,000 after buying an additional 127,564 shares in the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 11.4% in the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 9,705 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $5,972,000 after purchasing an additional 995 shares in the last quarter. Greenwood Gearhart Inc. raised its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 9.8% in the 3rd quarter. Greenwood Gearhart Inc. now owns 20,579 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $12,730,000 after purchasing an additional 1,837 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 23.6% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 55,452 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $28,868,000 after purchasing an additional 10,606 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank grew its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 82,934 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $43,145,000 after buying an additional 5,118 shares during the last quarter. 89.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:TMO opened at $559.72 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $529.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $568.56. The company has a market capitalization of $214.09 billion, a PE ratio of 35.09, a PEG ratio of 3.71 and a beta of 0.76. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 1-year low of $493.30 and a 1-year high of $627.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.26.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The medical research company reported $5.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.25 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $10.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.63 billion. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a return on equity of 17.49% and a net margin of 14.48%. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.69 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 21.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Friday, November 15th that allows the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the medical research company to repurchase up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.28%. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.78%.

Insider Activity at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In related news, SVP Michael A. Boxer sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $560.16, for a total value of $1,120,320.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 12,736 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,134,197.76. The trade was a 13.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $554.29, for a total value of $5,542,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 121,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $67,175,513.68. This represents a 7.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 47,150 shares of company stock worth $25,954,465. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

TMO has been the subject of several analyst reports. Stephens started coverage on Thermo Fisher Scientific in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. They set an “overweight” rating and a $680.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $630.00 to $620.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Bernstein Bank increased their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $565.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $605.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $670.00 to $660.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $648.95.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Profile

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.