Sarasin & Partners LLP Decreases Holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. $TMO

Key Points

• Sarasin & Partners LLP trimmed its stake in Thermo Fisher by 1.4% in Q4 to 264,529 shares (about $153.3M), making the stock ~1.6% of its portfolio and its 25th largest holding.
• Insider sales: EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 400 shares at $541.20 and CEO Marc N. Casper sold 5,000 shares at $512.40, reducing their holdings; insiders now own 0.33% of the company.
• Thermo Fisher reported a quarterly EPS beat ($6.57 vs. $6.45) and 7.2% revenue growth, raised its quarterly dividend to $0.47 ($1.88 annualized, 0.4% yield), and carries a MarketBeat consensus of “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $633.68.

Sarasin & Partners LLP lowered its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO - Free Report) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 264,529 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 3,878 shares during the quarter. Thermo Fisher Scientific makes up approximately 1.6% of Sarasin & Partners LLP's portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Sarasin & Partners LLP owned about 0.07% of Thermo Fisher Scientific worth $153,281,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 126.9% in the 3rd quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 59 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. Capital A Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 825.0% in the second quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC now owns 74 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Cloud Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Howard Hughes Medical Institute bought a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the second quarter valued at about $33,000. 89.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Thermo Fisher Scientific from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. KeyCorp raised Thermo Fisher Scientific from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $750.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Sunday, December 7th. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $615.00 price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $683.00 target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $696.00 to $683.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $633.68.

Insider Transactions at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In related news, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 400 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $512.40, for a total transaction of $2,562,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 123,925 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $63,499,170. The trade was a 3.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Trading Up 0.9%

NYSE TMO opened at $474.49 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $176.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.96. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $385.46 and a fifty-two week high of $643.99. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $543.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $547.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a current ratio of 1.89.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The medical research company reported $6.57 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $6.45 by $0.12. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a return on equity of 16.92% and a net margin of 15.05%.The company had revenue of $12.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.95 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $6.10 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a $0.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. 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%.

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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