KBC Group NV Decreases Stock Holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

KBC Group NV trimmed its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO - Free Report) by 15.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 257,754 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 46,047 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV owned 0.07% of Thermo Fisher Scientific worth $128,259,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the fourth quarter valued at about $3,149,754,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 60,610.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,419,331 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,203,859,000 after acquiring an additional 2,415,346 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 86.9% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,083,900 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,604,338,000 after purchasing an additional 1,433,444 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lifted its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 1,905.4% in the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 903,232 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $469,889,000 after purchasing an additional 858,193 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the fourth quarter worth approximately $377,901,000. Institutional investors own 89.23% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on TMO. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $585.00 to $500.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Argus dropped 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 report on Tuesday, April 29th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $580.00 to $570.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $715.00 to $500.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Thermo Fisher Scientific from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Thermo Fisher Scientific has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $604.05.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $429.93, for a total transaction of $128,979.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 23,167 shares of the company's stock, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Up 3.9%

Shares of NYSE TMO traded up $15.89 on Tuesday, reaching $421.35. 2,603,007 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,964,289. 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 business's 50 day simple moving average is $409.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $481.67. 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 $159.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.77.

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

Thermo Fisher Scientific Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.41%. Thermo Fisher Scientific's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.09%.

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.