Russell Investments Group Ltd. Boosts Stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 6.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 252,216 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 14,582 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.07% of Thermo Fisher Scientific worth $133,918,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 49.1% during the third quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 82 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the period. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC raised its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 107.0% during the fourth quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 89 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Operose Advisors LLC raised its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 250.0% during the third quarter. Operose Advisors LLC now owns 105 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 40.5% in the 3rd quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 111 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the period. 89.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In related news, Director Debora L. Spar sold 164 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $546.97, for a total value of $89,703.08. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 1,207 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $660,192.79. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Thermo Fisher Scientific news, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $597.98, for a total transaction of $5,979,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 123,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $74,039,491.68. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Debora L. Spar sold 164 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $546.97, for a total transaction of $89,703.08. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 1,207 shares in the company, valued at $660,192.79. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 50,277 shares of company stock valued at $28,513,384. Insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $590.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. HSBC lifted their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $630.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a report on Monday, March 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $620.00 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $621.00 to $620.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $550.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $606.76.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Performance

Thermo Fisher Scientific stock traded up $1.87 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $573.60. 1,438,184 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,317,052. The stock has a market cap of $218.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.70. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 52-week low of $415.60 and a 52-week high of $603.82. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $573.60 and its 200 day moving average is $529.90.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The medical research company reported $5.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.70 by $0.41. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a net margin of 14.20% and a return on equity of 18.45%. The business had revenue of $10.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.14 billion. Analysts predict that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 21.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This is a boost from Thermo Fisher Scientific’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.27%. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s dividend payout ratio is 10.01%.

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.