The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Reduces Position in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company trimmed its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 13.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,419,585 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 216,101 shares during the quarter. Thermo Fisher Scientific accounts for approximately 0.8% of The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned about 0.37% of Thermo Fisher Scientific worth $878,110,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BDF Gestion bought a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the second quarter worth about $6,368,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 140,708 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $87,093,000 after buying an additional 8,180 shares during the period. Simplify Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 67.4% during the third quarter. Simplify Asset Management Inc. now owns 13,770 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $8,518,000 after buying an additional 5,546 shares during the period. Summit Trail Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 29.2% during the third quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 5,378 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,329,000 after acquiring an additional 1,214 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Simmons Bank boosted its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 60.2% in the third quarter. Simmons Bank now owns 8,224 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $5,087,000 after acquiring an additional 3,090 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group upgraded shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Stephens started coverage on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $680.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $650.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. TD Cowen raised their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $656.00 to $686.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Thermo Fisher Scientific has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $649.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Thermo Fisher Scientific news, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,663 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,333,946.08. This represents a 1.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael A. Boxer sold 2,000 shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $560.16, for a total transaction of $1,120,320.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 12,736 shares in the company, valued at $7,134,197.76. This represents a 13.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 37,150 shares of company stock valued at $20,651,865 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Up 0.2 %

Thermo Fisher Scientific stock opened at $514.05 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $196.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.23, a PEG ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 12 month low of $480.57 and a 12 month high of $627.88. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $573.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $579.75.

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

Thermo Fisher Scientific Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued 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 payout ratio is 9.78%.

Thermo Fisher Scientific declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Friday, November 15th that authorizes the company to buyback $4.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the medical research company to purchase up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.