Manning & Napier Group LLC Boosts Stock Position in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Manning & Napier Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 1.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 145,447 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,453 shares during the quarter. Manning & Napier Group LLC’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $77,202,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Phoenix Holdings Ltd. raised its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 21.4% during the 3rd quarter. Phoenix Holdings Ltd. now owns 9,366 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,750,000 after acquiring an additional 1,654 shares during the last quarter. DMC Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 16.5% during the 3rd quarter. DMC Group LLC now owns 592 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $300,000 after buying an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Montchanin Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Montchanin Asset Management LLC now owns 4,550 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,374,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Check Capital Management Inc. CA purchased a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $219,000. Finally, Tower Bridge Advisors raised its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Tower Bridge Advisors now owns 33,046 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $16,727,000 after buying an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. 89.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific stock traded up $1.84 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $581.21. 1,081,545 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,473,417. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 52-week low of $415.60 and a 52-week high of $603.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $221.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a fifty day moving average of $565.87 and a 200-day moving average of $520.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The medical research company reported $5.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.64 by $0.03. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a return on equity of 18.78% and a net margin of 13.99%. The company had revenue of $10.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.73 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.40 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 21.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.27%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Thermo Fisher Scientific’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.10%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $555.63, for a total value of $5,556,300.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 49,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,311,992.65. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $555.63, for a total value of $5,556,300.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 49,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,311,992.65. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Michael A. Boxer sold 14,566 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $562.00, for a total value of $8,186,092.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 12,901 shares in the company, valued at $7,250,362. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 50,277 shares of company stock valued at $28,513,384 in the last quarter. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on TMO. TheStreet raised Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research note on Friday, December 22nd. Citigroup started coverage on Thermo Fisher Scientific in a report on Monday, March 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $620.00 price target on the stock. Raymond James upped their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $515.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. HSBC started coverage on Thermo Fisher Scientific in a report on Monday, December 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $610.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Barclays cut Thermo Fisher Scientific from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $475.00 to $555.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $599.00.

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.