Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. Invests $339,000 in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. bought a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 682 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $339,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Cassady Schiller Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 89.2% during the 4th quarter. Cassady Schiller Wealth Management LLC now owns 70 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Navigoe LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. 89.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Price Performance

NYSE TMO traded down $9.42 on Monday, reaching $425.44. 2,819,329 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,412,383. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $409.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $475.87. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 12 month low of $385.46 and a 12 month high of $627.88. The company has a market cap of $160.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.77.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The medical research company reported $5.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.10 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $10.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.23 billion. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a return on equity of 17.15% and a net margin of 15.19%. Thermo Fisher Scientific's revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.11 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 23.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.40%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Thermo Fisher Scientific's payout ratio is 10.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Thermo Fisher Scientific news, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $429.93, for a total value of $128,979.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 23,167 shares in the company, valued at $9,960,188.31. This represents a 1.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on TMO shares. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $603.00 to $573.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Barclays lowered their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $475.00 to $450.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $580.00 to $570.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Scotiabank upgraded Thermo Fisher Scientific from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and set a $590.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $600.30.

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.