Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. $TMO Shares Bought by VELA Investment Management LLC

VELA Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 65.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,305 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,683 shares during the period. Thermo Fisher Scientific makes up about 1.1% of VELA Investment Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. VELA Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $4,513,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in TMO. TIAA Trust National Association grew its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 10.5% during the 2nd quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 123,948 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $50,256,000 after acquiring an additional 11,817 shares in the last quarter. Lombard Odier Asset Management Switzerland SA grew its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 8.4% during the second quarter. Lombard Odier Asset Management Switzerland SA now owns 14,490 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $5,875,000 after purchasing an additional 1,128 shares in the last quarter. Caledonia Investments PLC raised its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 11.5% in the second quarter. Caledonia Investments PLC now owns 111,767 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $45,299,000 after buying an additional 11,500 shares in the last quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 3rd quarter worth about $506,000. Finally, Heritage Investors Management Corp increased its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 9.6% in the 2nd quarter. Heritage Investors Management Corp now owns 56,587 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $22,944,000 after acquiring an additional 4,971 shares during the last quarter. 89.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Michel Lagarde sold 32,000 shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $583.39, for a total value of $18,668,480.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 65,480 shares in the company, valued at $38,200,377.20. The trade was a 32.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Frederick M. Lowery sold 6,913 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $597.68, for a total value of $4,131,761.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 14,367 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,586,868.56. The trade was a 32.49% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 149,271 shares of company stock valued at $86,507,282 over the last ninety days. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Up 2.8%

TMO opened at $636.26 on Thursday. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 52 week low of $385.46 and a 52 week high of $637.98. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $588.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $528.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The company has a market cap of $239.05 billion, a PE ratio of 36.76, a P/E/G ratio of 4.07 and a beta of 0.91.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $5.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.50 by $0.29. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a return on equity of 16.97% and a net margin of 15.02%.The business had revenue of $11.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.90 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.28 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 23.28 EPS for the current year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, November 6th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the medical research company to repurchase up to 2.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th were issued a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s payout ratio is presently 9.94%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on TMO. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $656.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Redburn Partners set a $580.00 target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Thermo Fisher Scientific presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $625.47.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Profile

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE: TMO) is a global provider of scientific instrumentation, reagents and consumables, software, and services that support research, clinical, and industrial laboratories. The company supplies analytical instruments and laboratory equipment, life sciences reagents and kits, specialty diagnostics, and a broad range of consumables used by researchers, clinicians, and manufacturers. Its offerings also include laboratory information management and data-analysis software, as well as service solutions such as instrument maintenance, validation, and logistics that help customers run complex workflows efficiently.

Thermo Fisher operates through multiple business areas that broadly cover life sciences solutions, analytical instruments, specialty diagnostics, and laboratory products and biopharma services, including contract development and manufacturing for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.