NFJ Investment Group LLC Has $50.17 Million Stock Position in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

NFJ Investment Group LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 9.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 81,105 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 7,993 shares during the quarter. Thermo Fisher Scientific accounts for approximately 1.5% of NFJ Investment Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest holding. NFJ Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $50,169,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in TMO. CWM LLC raised its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 9.5% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 18,358 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $10,152,000 after buying an additional 1,590 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Group LLC increased its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 54,289 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $30,022,000 after purchasing an additional 632 shares in the last quarter. RDA Financial Network increased its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 28.0% during the 2nd quarter. RDA Financial Network now owns 4,089 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,261,000 after purchasing an additional 894 shares in the last quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 20.6% during the 2nd quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,476 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,922,000 after purchasing an additional 593 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. increased its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 27.3% during the 2nd quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 2,389 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,321,000 after purchasing an additional 513 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on TMO. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $670.00 to $660.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Stephens initiated coverage on Thermo Fisher Scientific in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. They set an “overweight” rating and a $680.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $655.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $630.00 to $620.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $767.00 to $718.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $649.33.

Insider Transactions at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In related news, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 9,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $552.86, for a total transaction of $4,975,740.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,608 shares in the company, valued at $8,076,178.88. This represents a 38.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $560.16, for a total transaction of $168,048.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,663 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,333,946.08. This trade represents a 1.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 37,150 shares of company stock valued at $20,651,865. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:TMO traded down $0.01 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $529.94. 506,664 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,511,853. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 52 week low of $487.06 and a 52 week high of $627.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $202.70 billion, a PE ratio of 33.23, a PEG ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.77. The company’s 50 day moving average is $566.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $577.69.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The medical research company reported $5.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.25 by $0.03. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a net margin of 14.48% and a return on equity of 17.49%. The firm had revenue of $10.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.63 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.69 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 21.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.29%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.78%.

Thermo Fisher Scientific announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Friday, November 15th that allows the company to buyback $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the medical research company to purchase up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.