MetLife Investment Management LLC Has $61.44 Million Holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

MetLife Investment Management LLC trimmed its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 2.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 99,333 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 2,489 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $61,444,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 318.2% in the 2nd quarter. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC now owns 46 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the third quarter worth $27,000. New Millennium Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the second quarter worth $29,000. Stephens Consulting LLC lifted its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 116.0% during the 2nd quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 54 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank & Trust Co bought a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. 89.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In other news, SVP Michael A. Boxer sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $560.16, for a total value of $1,120,320.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 12,736 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,134,197.76. This represents a 13.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $560.16, for a total transaction of $168,048.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,663 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 ninety days, insiders sold 37,150 shares of company stock worth $20,651,865. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Up 1.2 %

Thermo Fisher Scientific stock opened at $518.90 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $571.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $579.18. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 1-year low of $480.57 and a 1-year high of $627.88. 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 company has a market cap of $198.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 0.79.

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

Thermo Fisher Scientific declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Friday, November 15th that permits the company to buyback $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the medical research company to reacquire up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 presently 9.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on TMO shares. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $630.00 to $620.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays cut their price target on 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. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $655.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic began coverage on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research note on Monday, October 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $680.00 price objective on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $649.33.

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.