Wesleyan Assurance Society Boosts Position in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Wesleyan Assurance Society raised its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO - Free Report) by 2,305.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,095 shares of the medical research company's stock after buying an additional 6,800 shares during the quarter. Wesleyan Assurance Society's holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $3,691,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in TMO. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,149,754,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 86.9% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,083,900 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,604,338,000 after buying an additional 1,433,444 shares during the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lifted its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 1,905.4% in the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 903,232 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $469,889,000 after buying an additional 858,193 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 68,617.0% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 762,759 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $396,810,000 after buying an additional 761,649 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $377,901,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.23% of the company's stock.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Up 0.4%

Thermo Fisher Scientific stock opened at $413.75 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.66. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $390.50 and a fifty-two week high of $627.88. The stock's fifty day moving average is $451.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $508.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $156.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.82.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The medical research company reported $5.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.10 by $0.05. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a return on equity of 17.51% and a net margin of 14.78%. The business had revenue of $10.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $5.11 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 23.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.43 dividend. This is an increase from Thermo Fisher Scientific's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Thermo Fisher Scientific's dividend payout ratio is currently 10.09%.

Insider Activity

In other Thermo Fisher Scientific news, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $516.67, for a total value of $5,166,700.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 115,174 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $59,506,950.58. This trade represents a 7.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $429.93, for a total value of $128,979.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,167 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,960,188.31. The trade was a 1.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 14,075 shares of company stock worth $7,305,942 over the last three months. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on TMO shares. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $603.00 to $573.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. StockNews.com lowered Thermo Fisher Scientific from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $651.00 to $637.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $715.00 to $500.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $610.00 price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $607.43.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Profile

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.

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