Snyder Capital Management L P Buys 40,997 Shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. $TMO

Key Points

• Snyder Capital Management boosted its Thermo Fisher stake by 71.6% in Q3, buying 40,997 shares to hold 98,285 shares worth about $47.67 million.
• Analysts have been raising targets and ratings (Stifel to $700, Barclays to $650), leaving the stock with a consensus "Moderate Buy" and an average target of $633.68.
• Thermo Fisher recently beat quarterly estimates (EPS $6.57 vs $6.45; revenue $12.22B, +7.2% YoY), raised its quarterly dividend to $0.47, and authorized a $5 billion share buyback (~2.4% of shares outstanding).

Snyder Capital Management L P boosted its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO - Free Report) by 71.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 98,285 shares of the medical research company's stock after buying an additional 40,997 shares during the period. Snyder Capital Management L P's holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $47,670,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Corient IA LLC grew its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Corient IA LLC now owns 1,000 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $485,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Alpha Family Trust bought a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 3rd quarter valued at about $342,000. Element Pointe Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Element Pointe Advisors LLC now owns 1,595 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $774,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Banco BTG Pactual S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the third quarter valued at approximately $417,000. Finally, Mengis Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 5.2% during the third quarter. Mengis Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,020 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $495,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.23% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $583.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 9th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Barclays boosted their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $683.00 price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 28th. 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.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $633.68.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:TMO opened at $513.19 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $190.64 billion, a PE ratio of 28.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 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. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $570.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $548.43. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a twelve month low of $385.46 and a twelve month high of $643.99.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The medical research company reported $6.57 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $12.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.95 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $6.10 EPS. Thermo Fisher Scientific's revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 23.28 EPS for the current year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. This is an increase from Thermo Fisher Scientific's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. Thermo Fisher Scientific's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.70%.

Thermo Fisher Scientific announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, November 6th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the medical research company to reacquire up to 2.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Thermo Fisher Scientific news, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $541.20, for a total value of $216,480.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 20,752 shares in the company, valued at $11,230,982.40. This represents a 1.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company 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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