Markel Group Inc. Acquires 6,250 Shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. $TMO

Markel Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 12.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 55,800 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 6,250 shares during the quarter. Markel Group Inc.’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $27,064,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in TMO. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 0.9% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 33,789,164 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $13,700,154,000 after acquiring an additional 309,207 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,264,615,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 11.3% in the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,897,546 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,985,759,000 after acquiring an additional 498,238 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,000,562 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,216,612,000 after acquiring an additional 74,971 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 25.4% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,936,998 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,424,503,000 after purchasing an additional 594,218 shares during the period. 89.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on TMO shares. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $685.00 price objective on the stock. KeyCorp raised shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $750.00 price target on the stock in a report on Sunday, December 7th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $583.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Redburn Partners set a $580.00 price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $500.00 to $590.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Thermo Fisher Scientific has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $625.47.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Thermo Fisher Scientific news, EVP Frederick M. Lowery sold 6,912 shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $581.94, for a total transaction of $4,022,369.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 14,367 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,360,731.98. The trade was a 32.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Michel Lagarde sold 22,046 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $563.56, for a total transaction of $12,424,243.76. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 84,117 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,404,976.52. This trade represents a 20.77% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 124,517 shares of company stock valued at $72,363,568. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Price Performance

Thermo Fisher Scientific stock opened at $626.82 on Tuesday. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 52-week low of $385.46 and a 52-week high of $643.99. The company has a market cap of $235.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.21, a PEG ratio of 4.11 and a beta of 0.91. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $592.07 and its 200 day moving average is $533.76. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Announces Dividend

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

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

Thermo Fisher Scientific Company 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.