Townsquare Capital LLC Increases Stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Key Points

• Townsquare Capital LLC has increased its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. by 3.8%, now owning a total of 81,331 shares worth approximately $40.47 million.
• Several brokerages have adjusted their price targets for Thermo Fisher, with Stifel Nicolaus lowering its target from $665 to $620, while Scotiabank raised its rating to "sector outperform" with a $590 price target.
• Thermo Fisher's recent quarterly earnings showed a profit of $5.36 per share, surpassing analysts' expectations, with revenues increasing by 2.9% year-over-year to $10.86 billion.

Townsquare Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO - Free Report) by 3.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 81,331 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,999 shares during the quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC's holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $40,470,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Founders Financial Alliance LLC lifted its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 44.3% in the first quarter. Founders Financial Alliance LLC now owns 694 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $346,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares during the period. Everett Harris & Co. CA lifted its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 1.4% in the first quarter. Everett Harris & Co. CA now owns 14,709 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $7,319,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares during the period. Savvy Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 20.8% in the first quarter. Savvy Advisors Inc. now owns 1,864 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $928,000 after acquiring an additional 321 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 35.0% in the first quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 497,048 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $247,332,000 after acquiring an additional 128,969 shares during the period. Finally, LaSalle St. Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 54.2% in the first quarter. LaSalle St. Investment Advisors LLC now owns 967 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $481,000 after acquiring an additional 340 shares during the period. 89.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank raised shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and set a $590.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $500.00 to $480.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Argus reduced their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $620.00 to $470.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $450.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, HSBC reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $510.00 target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $593.00.

Insider Activity at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In other news, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $451.82, for a total transaction of $4,518,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 115,174 shares of the company's stock, valued at $52,037,916.68. This trade represents a 7.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $479.98, for a total transaction of $191,992.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 22,367 shares in the company, valued at $10,735,712.66. The trade was a 1.76% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 18,400 shares of company stock worth $8,345,792. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Performance

NYSE:TMO traded up $6.60 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $461.34. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,689,914 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,227,669. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $385.46 and a fifty-two week high of $627.88. The firm's 50 day moving average is $426.80 and its 200-day moving average is $463.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.93 and a quick ratio of 1.50. The firm has a market cap of $174.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.74.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $5.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.22 by $0.14. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a net margin of 15.24% and a return on equity of 16.82%. The company had revenue of $10.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.37 EPS. Thermo Fisher Scientific's quarterly revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 23.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Thermo Fisher Scientific's dividend payout ratio is 9.95%.

About Thermo Fisher Scientific

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc provides life sciences solutions, analytical instruments, specialty diagnostics, and laboratory products and biopharma services in the North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and internationally. The company's Life Sciences Solutions segment offers reagents, instruments, and consumables for biological and medical research, discovery, and production of drugs and vaccines, as well as diagnosis of infections and diseases; and solutions include biosciences, genetic sciences, and bio production to pharmaceutical, biotechnology, agricultural, clinical, healthcare, academic, and government markets.