Swiss National Bank Has $561.38 Million Stock Holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Swiss National Bank lessened its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 4.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,079,100 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 53,900 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.28% of Thermo Fisher Scientific worth $561,380,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Howard Capital Management Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 286 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of 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 valued at $771,876,000 after purchasing an additional 225,568 shares during the period. Bancreek Capital Management LP raised its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 9.5% during the 3rd quarter. Bancreek Capital Management LP now owns 15,733 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $9,732,000 after buying an additional 1,359 shares during the period. Simmons Bank lifted its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 60.2% in the third quarter. Simmons Bank now owns 8,224 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $5,087,000 after buying an additional 3,090 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 9.0% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 90,343 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $55,883,000 after acquiring an additional 7,427 shares in the last quarter. 89.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on TMO shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $650.00 to $570.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on 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. Bank of America reduced their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $675.00 to $660.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $660.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $653.23.

Insider Transactions at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In other Thermo Fisher Scientific news, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $516.67, for a total transaction 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 trade represents a 7.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Stephen Williamson sold 9,825 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $585.59, for a total transaction of $5,753,421.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 27,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,984,264.64. The trade was a 26.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 23,900 shares of company stock worth $13,106,062. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE TMO opened at $512.94 on Thursday. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 12 month low of $493.30 and a 12 month high of $627.88. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $549.00 and a 200-day moving average of $560.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The company has a market capitalization of $193.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.79.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $6.10 earnings per share 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 year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.43 dividend. This is an increase from Thermo Fisher Scientific’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.34%. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.41%.

Thermo Fisher Scientific announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Friday, November 15th that authorizes the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the medical research company to purchase up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.