Amundi Boosts Stock Position in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Amundi increased its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 13.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,860,847 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 340,263 shares during the quarter. Thermo Fisher Scientific makes up approximately 0.5% of Amundi’s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Amundi’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $1,556,689,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in TMO. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Barrett & Company Inc. purchased a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Missouri Trust & Investment Co purchased a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on TMO. UBS Group lifted their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $700.00 to $715.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com upgraded Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $630.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $650.00 to $570.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada set a $693.00 target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $653.23.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Performance

Shares of TMO opened at $531.74 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $549.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $562.68. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 52-week low of $493.30 and a 52-week high of $627.88. The firm has a market cap of $200.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.17, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $6.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.94 by $0.16. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a return on equity of 17.51% and a net margin of 14.78%. Analysts forecast that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 23.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This is a positive change from Thermo Fisher Scientific’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.32%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.41%.

Thermo Fisher Scientific declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Friday, November 15th that authorizes the company to buyback $4.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the medical research company to repurchase up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In related news, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $585.59, for a total transaction of $175,677.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,582,009.17. This represents a 1.80 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Stephen Williamson sold 9,825 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $585.59, for a total value of $5,753,421.75. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 20,125 shares of company stock valued at $11,095,799. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.