Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) Stake Raised by Ecofi Investissements SA

Ecofi Investissements SA grew its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 17,050 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the quarter. Thermo Fisher Scientific accounts for 5.1% of Ecofi Investissements SA’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Ecofi Investissements SA’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $8,218,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 33,249,575 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $17,297,426,000 after purchasing an additional 196,864 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,857,385 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,075,540,000 after acquiring an additional 197,442 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the fourth quarter worth about $3,149,754,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 5.7% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,853,133 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,935,377,000 after purchasing an additional 262,062 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi lifted its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 13.5% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,860,847 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,556,689,000 after purchasing an additional 340,263 shares during the last quarter. 89.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Trading Down 2.4 %

Shares of NYSE:TMO opened at $426.11 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $497.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $533.64. The stock has a market cap of $160.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.78, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.86. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 52-week low of $409.85 and a 52-week high of $627.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

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

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.43 dividend. This is an increase from Thermo Fisher Scientific’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.40%. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Michael A. Boxer sold 3,775 shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $532.52, for a total transaction of $2,010,263.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 10,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,759,736.32. The trade was a 25.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $516.67, for a total transaction of $5,166,700.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 115,174 shares in the company, valued at $59,506,950.58. This trade represents a 7.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 23,900 shares of company stock valued at $13,106,062 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $647.00 to $678.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com raised shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Royal Bank of Canada set a $693.00 target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup decreased their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $650.00 to $570.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $667.00 target price (up previously from $650.00) on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Thermo Fisher Scientific has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $642.67.

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.