Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) Stake Boosted by Holderness Investments Co.

Holderness Investments Co. boosted its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,277 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. Holderness Investments Co.’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $664,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Howard Capital Management Group LLC grew its position in 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. boosted its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 22.1% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,247,838 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $771,876,000 after purchasing an additional 225,568 shares in the last quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc boosted its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 19.6% in the third quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 4,549 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,816,000 after purchasing an additional 746 shares in the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI boosted its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 1.6% in the third quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 27,816 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $17,212,000 after purchasing an additional 443 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. boosted its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 4.5% in the third quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 180,801 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $111,838,000 after purchasing an additional 7,727 shares in the last quarter. 89.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Thermo Fisher Scientific news, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $516.67, for a total transaction of $5,166,700.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 115,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $59,506,950.58. This represents a 7.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $9,582,009.17. This trade represents a 1.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 23,900 shares of company stock valued at $13,106,062. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Performance

NYSE:TMO opened at $518.58 on Friday. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 12-month low of $493.30 and a 12-month high of $627.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $195.64 billion, a PE ratio of 31.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.79. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $546.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $556.94.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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%. Research analysts anticipate that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 23.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.33%. This is a boost from Thermo Fisher Scientific’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.41%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $630.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $700.00 to $715.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $660.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada set a $693.00 price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and set a $667.00 price target (up from $650.00) on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Thermo Fisher Scientific has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.