Banco Santander S.A. Increases Stock Holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Banco Santander S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 9.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 67,120 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 5,771 shares during the quarter. Thermo Fisher Scientific accounts for about 0.5% of Banco Santander S.A.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Banco Santander S.A.’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $41,518,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 14,175 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $8,239,000 after purchasing an additional 316 shares during the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 54.9% during the 1st quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 1,233 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $717,000 after buying an additional 437 shares during the period. Senator Investment Group LP purchased a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 1st quarter worth $49,403,000. Brant Point Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 1.4% in the first quarter. Brant Point Investment Management LLC now owns 15,025 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $8,733,000 after purchasing an additional 207 shares during the period. Finally, Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC now owns 24,864 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $14,451,000 after buying an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. 89.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE TMO opened at $512.86 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $196.17 billion, a PE ratio of 32.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.79. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $579.63 and its 200-day moving average is $580.98. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 1 year low of $476.45 and a 1 year high of $627.88.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The medical research company reported $5.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.25 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $10.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.63 billion. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a net margin of 14.48% and a return on equity of 17.49%. The firm’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.69 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 21.67 EPS for the current year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Friday, November 15th that authorizes the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the medical research company to repurchase up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 yield of 0.30%. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.78%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $554.29, for a total value of $5,542,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 121,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $67,175,513.68. This trade represents a 7.62 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 300 shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $560.16, for a total value of $168,048.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,663 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,333,946.08. This trade represents a 1.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 37,150 shares of company stock worth $20,651,865. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on TMO. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $625.00 to $620.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $767.00 to $718.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Raymond James upped their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $650.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $630.00 to $620.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $649.33.

About Thermo Fisher Scientific

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.