Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Sells 35,021 Shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. $TMO

Key Points

• Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group trimmed its Thermo Fisher stake by 3.1%, selling 35,021 shares to hold 1,094,733 shares (about 0.29% of the company) valued at roughly $634.34 million at quarter-end.
• Thermo Fisher beat quarterly expectations, reporting $6.57 EPS versus $6.45 consensus and $12.22 billion in revenue (up 7.2% YoY), and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.47 ($1.88 annualized).
• Analyst sentiment and ownership: the stock carries a "Moderate Buy" consensus with an average price target of $632.50, institutional investors own ~89.23% of shares, and market cap is about $184.45 billion (shares opened near $496).

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. reduced its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO - Free Report) by 3.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,094,733 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 35,021 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned 0.29% of Thermo Fisher Scientific worth $634,343,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 3rd quarter worth $41,393,000. Weaver Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 3rd quarter worth $506,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 29.4% during the 3rd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 276,545 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $134,130,000 after purchasing an additional 62,790 shares during the period. VELA Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 65.5% during the 3rd quarter. VELA Investment Management LLC now owns 9,305 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $4,513,000 after purchasing an additional 3,683 shares during the period. Finally, NEOS Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 28.6% during the 3rd quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 51,364 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $24,913,000 after purchasing an additional 11,415 shares during the period. 89.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on TMO. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $615.00 price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research note on Friday, January 30th. DZ Bank began coverage on Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research note on Friday, March 27th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $610.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays boosted their price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Thermo Fisher Scientific from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $653.00 price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research note on Friday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $632.50.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE TMO opened at $496.34 on Friday. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 12 month low of $385.46 and a 12 month high of $643.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.89, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $184.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.98, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.97. The business has a 50-day moving average of $505.33 and a 200-day moving average of $548.85.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The medical research company reported $6.57 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $11.95 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $6.10 earnings per share. Thermo Fisher Scientific's revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 23.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.47 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This is a positive change from Thermo Fisher Scientific's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Thermo Fisher Scientific's payout ratio is presently 10.60%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 400 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $541.20, for a total transaction of $216,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 20,752 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,230,982.40. The trade was a 1.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was 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 directly owned 123,925 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $63,499,170. This represents a 3.88% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Company 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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