Highland Capital Management LLC Has $17.42 Million Stock Holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Highland Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO - Free Report) by 3.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 35,006 shares of the medical research company's stock after buying an additional 1,027 shares during the period. Thermo Fisher Scientific accounts for about 1.0% of Highland Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Highland Capital Management LLC's holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $17,419,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 33,249,575 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $17,297,426,000 after buying an additional 196,864 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 9,430,120 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $4,905,812,000 after buying an additional 104,343 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,857,385 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $4,075,540,000 after buying an additional 197,442 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,149,754,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 13.2% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,910,015 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $2,034,107,000 after purchasing an additional 455,004 shares in the last quarter. 89.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $650.00 to $570.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $475.00 to $450.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Argus lowered their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $620.00 to $470.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $610.00 target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Thermo Fisher Scientific currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $604.05.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Down 1.1%

TMO traded down $4.45 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $407.67. 3,922,604 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,951,845. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 1-year low of $385.46 and a 1-year high of $627.88. The stock's 50-day moving average is $409.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $483.23. The stock has a market cap of $153.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.91, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

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

Thermo Fisher Scientific Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Thermo Fisher Scientific's payout ratio is 10.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In other Thermo Fisher Scientific news, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 now owns 23,167 shares in the company, valued at $9,960,188.31. This trade represents a 1.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

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.