Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. $TMO Stock Holdings Lowered by Bristol John W & Co. Inc. NY

Key Points

• Bristol John W & Co. trimmed its Thermo Fisher stake by 1.8% to 353,906 shares (about $171.7M), but other large institutions (Vanguard, Capital World, Franklin, Norges Bank, BNY Mellon) notably increased positions, leaving institutional ownership at roughly 89.2%.
• Insider selling was reported—EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 400 shares and CEO Marc N. Casper sold 5,000 shares—while corporate insiders still only own about 0.33% of the stock.
• Analysts have been raising targets (consensus price target ~$633.68, KeyCorp at $750), and Thermo Fisher recently beat quarterly EPS and revenue estimates ($6.57 EPS on $12.22B revenue, +7.2% YoY) and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.47.

Bristol John W & Co. Inc. NY trimmed its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO - Free Report) by 1.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 353,906 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 6,538 shares during the period. Thermo Fisher Scientific comprises approximately 2.7% of Bristol John W & Co. Inc. NY's investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Bristol John W & Co. Inc. NY owned approximately 0.09% of Thermo Fisher Scientific worth $171,651,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 33,789,164 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $13,700,154,000 after acquiring an additional 309,207 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 7.4% during the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 10,285,145 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $4,988,132,000 after purchasing an additional 706,572 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 21.0% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,925,671 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $2,874,069,000 after purchasing an additional 1,028,125 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 2nd quarter worth about $2,264,615,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 54.7% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,571,857 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,732,422,000 after buying an additional 1,262,967 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.23% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Thermo Fisher Scientific news, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 400 shares of the business's 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 20,752 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,230,982.40. The trade was a 1.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $512.40, for a total transaction of $2,562,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 123,925 shares in the company, valued at $63,499,170. This represents a 3.88% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on TMO. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $656.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $660.00 to $685.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Robert W. Baird set a $653.00 target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, 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 report on Sunday, December 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $633.68.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Trading Down 4.0%

Shares of NYSE:TMO opened at $475.78 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $560.39 and a two-hundred day moving average of $548.36. 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 Inc. has a 12-month low of $385.46 and a 12-month high of $643.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $176.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.96.

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

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 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 presently 9.70%.

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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