Westpac Banking Corp Buys 5,573 Shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. $TMO

Westpac Banking Corp raised its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 179.0% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 8,687 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,573 shares during the period. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $4,213,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 126.9% in the 3rd quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 59 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the period. Cloud Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 825.0% in the 2nd quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC now owns 74 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 35.1% in the 3rd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 77 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Finally, Howard Hughes Medical Institute bought a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 89.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

TMO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $650.00 target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Barclays raised their price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $583.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 9th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $696.00 to $683.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted 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 report on Tuesday, December 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $633.68.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE TMO opened at $514.20 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $576.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $547.25. The company has a market cap of $193.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.99, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.89 and a quick ratio of 1.53. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 1 year low of $385.46 and a 1 year high of $643.99.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The medical research company reported $6.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.45 by $0.12. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a return on equity of 16.92% and a net margin of 15.05%.The business had revenue of $12.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.95 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $6.10 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 23.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a $0.47 dividend. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. This is an increase from Thermo Fisher Scientific’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s payout ratio is currently 9.70%.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Thermo Fisher Scientific news, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $541.20, for a total value of $216,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 20,752 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,230,982.40. This represents a 1.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Michel Lagarde sold 32,000 shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $583.39, for a total value of $18,668,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 65,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,200,377.20. The trade was a 32.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 98,271 shares of company stock worth $56,920,935 in the last ninety days. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.