Rhenman & Partners Asset Management AB Increases Position in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. $TMO

Rhenman & Partners Asset Management AB lifted its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 169.7% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 30,040 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 18,900 shares during the quarter. Thermo Fisher Scientific comprises 1.6% of Rhenman & Partners Asset Management AB’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Rhenman & Partners Asset Management AB’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $14,570,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in TMO. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 0.9% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 33,789,164 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $13,700,154,000 after purchasing an additional 309,207 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,264,615,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 11.3% during the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,897,546 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,985,759,000 after buying an additional 498,238 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 54.7% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,571,857 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,732,422,000 after acquiring an additional 1,262,967 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 2.6% in the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,000,562 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,216,612,000 after acquiring an additional 74,971 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.23% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $512.40, for a total transaction of $2,562,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 123,925 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $63,499,170. This represents a 3.88% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $541.20, for a total value of $216,480.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 20,752 shares in the company, valued at $11,230,982.40. This trade represents a 1.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Performance

Shares of TMO opened at $501.72 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $567.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $548.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a current ratio of 1.89. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 1 year low of $385.46 and a 1 year high of $643.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $186.38 billion, a PE ratio of 28.28, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.96.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The medical research company reported $6.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.45 by $0.12. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a net margin of 15.05% and a return on equity of 16.92%. The firm had revenue of $12.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.95 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $6.10 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.47 per share. This is a positive change from Thermo Fisher Scientific’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.70%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on TMO. Barclays lifted their target price 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. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $615.00 target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $656.00 to $670.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $683.00 price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research note on Friday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Thermo Fisher Scientific presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $633.68.

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.