Menora Mivtachim Holdings LTD. Buys 132,700 Shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. $TMO

Key Points

• Menora Mivtachim increased its stake in Thermo Fisher (NYSE: TMO) by 77.2%, buying 132,700 shares to hold 304,632 shares valued at about $147.8 million (roughly 0.08% of the company) at quarter-end.
• Thermo Fisher beat estimates with Q results of $6.57 EPS vs. $6.45 expected and $12.22B in revenue (+7.2% YoY), and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.47 (annualized $1.88; yield ≈0.4%).
• Analysts are broadly positive: MarketBeat shows a consensus of "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $633.68, and recent firm targets and upgrades range roughly $615–$750.

Menora Mivtachim Holdings LTD. boosted its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO - Free Report) by 77.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 304,632 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 132,700 shares during the period. Menora Mivtachim Holdings LTD. owned about 0.08% of Thermo Fisher Scientific worth $147,753,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 28.9% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,409 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $2,293,000 after acquiring an additional 988 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 491 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $255,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the second quarter valued at about $1,173,000. PFG Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the second quarter worth about $260,000. Finally, Quinn Opportunity Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,216,000. 89.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TMO has been the topic of a number of research reports. Robert W. Baird set a $653.00 target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a report 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 for the company in a research note on Sunday, December 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $685.00 price objective on the stock. TD Cowen lowered their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $696.00 to $683.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $615.00 price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research report on Friday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $633.68.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Trading Down 4.0%

TMO opened at $475.78 on Friday. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a twelve month low of $385.46 and a twelve month high of $643.99. The company has a fifty day moving average of $560.39 and a 200-day moving average of $548.36. The stock has a market cap of $176.74 billion, a PE ratio of 26.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a quick ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 1.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

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 the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $12.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.95 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $6.10 earnings per share. Thermo Fisher Scientific's revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 23.28 EPS 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. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.47 per share. This is an increase from Thermo Fisher Scientific's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. Thermo Fisher Scientific's payout ratio is 9.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 5,000 shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 123,925 shares in the company, valued at $63,499,170. The trade was a 3.88% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 400 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $541.20, for a total transaction of $216,480.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 20,752 shares in the company, valued at $11,230,982.40. The trade was a 1.89% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

About Thermo Fisher Scientific

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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