North Star Asset Management Inc. Increases Stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. $TMO

North Star Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 62,054 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,491 shares during the period. Thermo Fisher Scientific makes up approximately 1.2% of North Star Asset Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 27th largest holding. North Star Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $30,098,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. TIAA Trust National Association increased its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 10.5% during the second quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 123,948 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $50,256,000 after purchasing an additional 11,817 shares in the last quarter. Lombard Odier Asset Management Switzerland SA grew its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 8.4% in the 2nd quarter. Lombard Odier Asset Management Switzerland SA now owns 14,490 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $5,875,000 after buying an additional 1,128 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the third quarter valued at $41,393,000. Weaver Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the third quarter worth $506,000. Finally, VELA Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 65.5% during the third quarter. VELA Investment Management LLC now owns 9,305 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,513,000 after acquiring an additional 3,683 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.23% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In other news, COO Michel Lagarde sold 32,000 shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $583.39, for a total transaction of $18,668,480.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 65,480 shares in the company, valued at $38,200,377.20. This trade represents a 32.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 owned 20,752 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,230,982.40. This trade represents a 1.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 98,271 shares of company stock worth $56,920,935 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on TMO shares. Morgan Stanley upped 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 note on Tuesday, December 2nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $685.00 price target for the company. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $650.00 target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Finally, KeyCorp upgraded Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $750.00 price target for the company in a research note on Sunday, December 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $633.68.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Price Performance

Shares of TMO opened at $515.79 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $193.79 billion, a PE ratio of 29.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.93. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 1-year low of $385.46 and a 1-year high of $643.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.89, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $576.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $547.48.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The medical research company reported $6.57 EPS 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 company had revenue of $12.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.95 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $6.10 earnings per share. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 23.28 EPS for the current year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, November 6th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the medical research company to purchase up to 2.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is 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.