Farallon Capital Management LLC Lowers Position in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. $TMO

Key Points

• Farallon Capital reduced its stake by 9%, selling 125,000 shares and now holding 1,258,241 shares (about 0.33% of TMO) valued at roughly $610.3 million, making Thermo Fisher its 8th largest holding.
• Other large institutions added to positions—Vanguard holds 33.79M shares, Capital World and Franklin Resources added 706k and 1.03M shares respectively, Bank of New York Mellon's stake rose 54.7%, and Norges Bank opened a new ~$2.26B position; institutional ownership is ~89.23%.
• Thermo Fisher beat Q4 expectations (EPS $6.57 vs $6.45, revenue $12.22B, +7.2% y/y), raised its quarterly dividend to $0.47 (annualized $1.88, 0.4% yield), and has a MarketBeat consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a $633.68 target.

Farallon Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO - Free Report) by 9.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,258,241 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 125,000 shares during the period. Thermo Fisher Scientific makes up about 2.5% of Farallon Capital Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Farallon Capital Management LLC owned 0.33% of Thermo Fisher Scientific worth $610,272,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 33,789,164 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $13,700,154,000 after purchasing an additional 309,207 shares during the period. Capital World Investors increased its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 7.4% during the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 10,285,145 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $4,988,132,000 after buying an additional 706,572 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 21.0% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,925,671 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $2,874,069,000 after buying an additional 1,028,125 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,264,615,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 54.7% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,571,857 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,732,422,000 after acquiring an additional 1,262,967 shares in the last quarter. 89.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:TMO opened at $463.99 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 1.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The stock has a market cap of $172.36 billion, a PE ratio of 26.15, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.96. The company's fifty day moving average is $557.83 and its 200 day moving average is $549.01. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 52 week low of $385.46 and a 52 week high of $643.99.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The medical research company reported $6.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.45 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $12.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.95 billion. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a net margin of 15.05% and a return on equity of 16.92%. The company's revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $6.10 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 23.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $0.47 per share. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This is a positive change from Thermo Fisher Scientific's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Thermo Fisher Scientific's dividend payout ratio is 10.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

TMO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $660.00 to $685.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. KeyCorp raised shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $750.00 price target on the stock in a report on Sunday, December 7th. Robert W. Baird set a $653.00 price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $583.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $615.00 price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a report on Friday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $633.68.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Thermo Fisher Scientific news, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 400 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $541.20, for a total value of $216,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 20,752 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,230,982.40. The trade was a 1.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $512.40, for a total value of $2,562,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 123,925 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $63,499,170. This trade represents a 3.88% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Profile

Thermo Fisher Scientific NYSE: TMO is a global provider of scientific instrumentation, reagents and consumables, software, and services that support research, clinical, and industrial laboratories. The company supplies analytical instruments and laboratory equipment, life sciences reagents and kits, specialty diagnostics, and a broad range of consumables used by researchers, clinicians, and manufacturers. Its offerings also include laboratory information management and data-analysis software, as well as service solutions such as instrument maintenance, validation, and logistics that help customers run complex workflows efficiently.

Thermo Fisher operates through multiple business areas that broadly cover life sciences solutions, analytical instruments, specialty diagnostics, and laboratory products and biopharma services, including contract development and manufacturing for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.

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