Markel Group Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Markel Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO - Free Report) by 44.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,600 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,000 shares during the quarter. Markel Group Inc.'s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $10,403,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 294 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $156,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton lifted its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 526 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $279,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Tsfg LLC lifted its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 249 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $132,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. lifted its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 16.5% in the fourth quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 141 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Retirement Planning Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Retirement Planning Group LLC now owns 446 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $237,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.23% of the company's stock.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Performance

NYSE TMO traded up $1.87 on Friday, hitting $573.60. 1,437,128 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,561,897. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $573.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $529.90. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $415.60 and a fifty-two week high of $603.82. The firm has a market cap of $218.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.80.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The medical research company reported $5.11 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.70 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $10.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.14 billion. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a return on equity of 18.45% and a net margin of 14.20%. On average, research analysts expect that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 21.52 EPS for the current year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Thermo Fisher Scientific's previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Thermo Fisher Scientific's dividend payout ratio is currently 10.01%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $555.63, for a total transaction of $5,556,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 49,155 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,311,992.65. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Thermo Fisher Scientific news, SVP Michael A. Boxer sold 14,566 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $562.00, for a total value of $8,186,092.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 12,901 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,250,362. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $555.63, for a total value of $5,556,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 49,155 shares in the company, valued at $27,311,992.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 50,277 shares of company stock valued at $28,513,384 in the last quarter. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on TMO. HSBC increased their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $630.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $592.00 to $642.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $621.00 to $620.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Raymond James raised their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $515.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $550.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $606.76.

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.

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