Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Takes Position in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 109,596 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $57,107,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 33,249,575 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $17,297,426,000 after purchasing an additional 196,864 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,857,385 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $4,075,540,000 after acquiring an additional 197,442 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 4th quarter worth $3,149,754,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 5.7% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,853,133 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,935,377,000 after purchasing an additional 262,062 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi increased its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 13.5% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,860,847 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,556,689,000 after purchasing an additional 340,263 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.23% of the company’s stock.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Down 6.9 %

TMO stock opened at $437.71 on Friday. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $437.22 and a fifty-two week high of $627.88. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $532.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $547.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $165.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.48, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.79.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $6.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 23.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.39%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Thermo Fisher Scientific’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.41%.

Insider Activity at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In other news, CFO Stephen Williamson sold 9,825 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $585.59, for a total value of $5,753,421.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 27,296 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,984,264.64. This represents a 26.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Michael A. Boxer sold 3,775 shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at $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. Insiders sold 23,900 shares of company stock valued at $13,106,062 over the last three months. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on TMO shares. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $667.00 price target (up previously from $650.00) on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $660.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $647.00 to $678.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada set a $693.00 target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $675.00 to $660.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $653.23.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Company 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.