Dodge & Cox Has $13.59 Million Stock Position in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Dodge & Cox lowered its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 26,121 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 645 shares during the quarter. Dodge & Cox’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $13,589,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in TMO. Jump Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 1,545.2% in the 4th quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 49,011 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $25,497,000 after buying an additional 46,032 shares during the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 11,465 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $5,965,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the period. Kane Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the fourth quarter worth approximately $747,000. Guggenheim Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 40,621 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $21,132,000 after buying an additional 2,328 shares during the period. Finally, Rossby Financial LCC bought a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the fourth quarter valued at $920,000. Institutional investors own 89.23% of the company’s stock.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Price Performance

TMO stock opened at $440.91 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $505.28 and a 200-day moving average of $536.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $166.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 12 month low of $409.85 and a 12 month high of $627.88.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $6.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.94 by $0.16. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a return on equity of 17.51% and a net margin of 14.78%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 23.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.39%. This is a positive change from Thermo Fisher Scientific’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.41%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on TMO. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $647.00 to $678.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada set a $693.00 target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $630.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $667.00 price objective (up from $650.00) on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $650.00 to $570.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $647.43.

Insider Activity

In other Thermo Fisher Scientific news, CFO Stephen Williamson sold 9,825 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $585.59, for a total value of $5,753,421.75. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 27,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,984,264.64. This trade represents a 26.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $585.59, for a total value of $175,677.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,363 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,582,009.17. This represents a 1.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 23,900 shares of company stock valued at $13,106,062. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Company 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.