Great Lakes Retirement Inc. Sells 2,776 Shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. $TMO

Key Points

• Great Lakes Retirement Inc. sold 2,776 shares of Thermo Fisher, cutting its stake by 51.4% to 2,628 shares valued at about $1.28 million at quarter-end.
• Thermo Fisher beat quarterly earnings (EPS $6.57 vs. $6.45) with revenue of $12.22 billion (+7.2% y/y), and the company increased its quarterly dividend to $0.47 while authorizing a $5.0 billion buyback program.
• Analysts are generally positive—MarketBeat shows a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of about $633.68, and several major banks have buy/overweight ratings with higher targets.

Great Lakes Retirement Inc. lessened its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO - Free Report) by 51.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,628 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 2,776 shares during the period. Great Lakes Retirement Inc.'s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $1,275,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 28.9% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,409 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $2,293,000 after acquiring an additional 988 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 worth $255,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. IFG Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 17.2% during the 2nd quarter. IFG Advisory LLC now owns 497 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $202,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Versor Investments LP acquired a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the second quarter valued at about $271,000. Finally, Westside Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 169.4% during the second quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 97 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. 89.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Price Performance

Thermo Fisher Scientific stock opened at $513.19 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $190.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.96. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 12-month low of $385.46 and a 12-month high of $643.99. 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 business's 50-day simple moving average is $570.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $548.43.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The medical research company reported $6.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $6.45 by $0.12. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a net margin of 15.05% and a return on equity of 16.92%. The company had revenue of $12.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.95 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $6.10 EPS. The company's revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, 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 firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.47 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. This is a boost from Thermo Fisher Scientific's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Thermo Fisher Scientific's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.70%.

Thermo Fisher Scientific declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, November 6th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the medical research company to purchase up to 2.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

TMO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $615.00 target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a report on Friday, January 30th. Wall Street Zen raised Thermo Fisher Scientific from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $656.00 to $670.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. They set a "buy" rating and a $685.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $683.00 price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research report on Friday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $633.68.

Insider Activity at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In related news, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 400 shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $541.20, for a total transaction of $216,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 20,752 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

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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