PGGM Investments Trims Holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

PGGM Investments cut its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 196,932 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 3,129 shares during the quarter. Thermo Fisher Scientific makes up approximately 1.6% of PGGM Investments’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. PGGM Investments’ holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $104,530,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Ownership Capital B.V. bought a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 4th quarter valued at about $106,557,000. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,586 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,026,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares during the period. Intact Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,221,000. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT lifted its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT now owns 3,897 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,069,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 252,216 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $133,918,000 after acquiring an additional 14,582 shares during the period. 89.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on TMO shares. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $550.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $592.00 to $642.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research note on Monday, March 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $620.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $515.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $606.76.

Insider Activity at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In related news, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $597.98, for a total value of $5,979,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 123,816 shares in the company, valued at $74,039,491.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, SVP Michael A. Boxer sold 14,566 shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $562.00, for a total transaction of $8,186,092.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 12,901 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,250,362. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $597.98, for a total transaction of $5,979,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 123,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $74,039,491.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 50,277 shares of company stock valued at $28,513,384. 0.32% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Price Performance

TMO traded up $1.87 during trading on Friday, reaching $573.60. 1,438,184 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,317,052. 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 12-month low of $415.60 and a 12-month high of $603.82. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $573.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $529.90. The company has a market cap of $218.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.79, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.80.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The medical research company reported $5.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.14 billion. On average, equities analysts forecast that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 21.54 EPS for the current year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

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