Nuveen LLC Buys Shares of 1,069,856 Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Key Points

• Nuveen LLC acquired over 1 million shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. for approximately $532 million, increasing its ownership to about 0.28% of the company.
• Several institutional investors increased their stakes in Thermo Fisher, with significant boosts from firms such as Aigen Investment Management (37.3% increase) and Coronation Fund Managers (218.7% increase).
• Thermo Fisher reported a quarterly EPS of $5.36, beating estimates, and announced a dividend of $0.43 to be paid on October 15th, representing an annualized yield of 0.4%.

Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 1,069,856 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $532,360,000. Nuveen LLC owned approximately 0.28% of Thermo Fisher Scientific as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in TMO. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 491 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $255,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Port Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Port Capital LLC now owns 1,385 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $721,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. now owns 4,445 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $2,312,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the period. Monograph Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Monograph Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,656 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $4,507,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the period. Finally, Intergy Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. Intergy Private Wealth LLC now owns 419 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $208,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.23% of the company's stock.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Trading Up 1.7%

TMO traded up $8.31 on Wednesday, reaching $485.72. 2,054,775 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,501,960. The company's 50 day moving average is $429.68 and its 200-day moving average is $461.95. The company has a market cap of $183.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.09, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.74. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a twelve month low of $385.46 and a twelve month high of $627.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 1.93.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $5.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.22 by $0.14. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a net margin of 15.24% and a return on equity of 16.82%. The firm had revenue of $10.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.37 EPS. The company's revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 23.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Thermo Fisher Scientific's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on TMO. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $651.00 to $637.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. HSBC reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $510.00 price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $500.00 to $480.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Argus lowered their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $620.00 to $470.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $570.00 to $565.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $593.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 8,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $454.45, for a total transaction of $3,635,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 115,174 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $52,340,824.30. This trade represents a 6.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $479.98, for a total transaction of $191,992.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 22,367 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,735,712.66. The trade was a 1.76% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 18,400 shares of company stock valued at $8,345,792 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

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.