Tower Bridge Advisors Has $15.68 Million Stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Tower Bridge Advisors lifted its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 0.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,343 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 184 shares during the period. Thermo Fisher Scientific accounts for about 1.6% of Tower Bridge Advisors’ portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Tower Bridge Advisors’ holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $15,677,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Atlanta Consulting Group Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 3rd quarter valued at about $662,000. Phraction Management LLC boosted its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 1.5% in the third quarter. Phraction Management LLC now owns 27,600 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $17,073,000 after acquiring an additional 395 shares in the last quarter. Schear Investment Advisers LLC increased its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 9.0% during the third quarter. Schear Investment Advisers LLC now owns 1,165 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $721,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Spinnaker Investment Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 3rd quarter worth $203,000. Finally, Accredited Investors Inc. grew its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 981 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $607,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. 89.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $560.16, for a total value of $168,048.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,663 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,333,946.08. This trade represents a 1.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael A. Boxer sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $560.16, for a total transaction of $1,120,320.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 12,736 shares in the company, valued at $7,134,197.76. This trade represents a 13.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 37,150 shares of company stock worth $20,651,865. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TMO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $620.00 to $610.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $655.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. UBS Group raised Thermo Fisher Scientific to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $650.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Stephens initiated coverage on Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. They set an “overweight” rating and a $680.00 price objective on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $649.33.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Performance

Shares of TMO opened at $513.08 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market cap of $196.25 billion, a PE ratio of 32.17, a PEG ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.79. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 1 year low of $464.17 and a 1 year high of $627.88. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $586.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $582.34.

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. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a net margin of 14.48% and a return on equity of 17.49%. The firm had revenue of $10.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.63 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $5.69 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 21.67 EPS for the current year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share 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 purchase up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.30%. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.78%.

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.