Rafferty Asset Management LLC Increases Position in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. $TMO

Rafferty Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 5.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 41,926 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,030 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $20,335,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Financial Management Network Inc. increased its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Financial Management Network Inc. now owns 511 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $248,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC increased its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 8.8% during the third quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 236 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $114,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. White Pine Capital LLC raised its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 3.2% in the third quarter. White Pine Capital LLC now owns 611 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $296,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the period. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 35.1% in the third quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 77 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hopwood Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 9.1% during the 3rd quarter. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. now owns 239 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $116,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $650.00 price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research report on Friday, January 9th. HSBC raised Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 1st. Robert W. Baird set a $653.00 target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Thermo Fisher Scientific presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $633.68.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Performance

NYSE TMO opened at $520.80 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $574.24 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $547.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $195.67 billion, a PE ratio of 29.36, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The medical research company reported $6.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $12.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.95 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $6.10 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.47 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This is a positive change from Thermo Fisher Scientific’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s payout ratio is presently 9.70%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Frederick M. Lowery sold 6,913 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $597.68, for a total value of $4,131,761.84. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 14,367 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,586,868.56. This trade represents a 32.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $541.20, for a total transaction of $216,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 20,752 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,230,982.40. This represents a 1.89% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 98,271 shares of company stock worth $56,920,935. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.