Magellan Asset Management Ltd Acquires 97,298 Shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. $TMO

Magellan Asset Management Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 781.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 109,747 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 97,298 shares during the period. Magellan Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $53,229,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position 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 acquired a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,264,615,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased 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 worth $1,985,759,000 after purchasing an additional 498,238 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 54.7% during the 3rd 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 purchasing an additional 1,262,967 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted 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 valued at $1,216,612,000 after buying an additional 74,971 shares in the last quarter. 89.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. 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 research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. Robert W. Baird set a $653.00 price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research note on Friday, January 30th. HSBC upgraded Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 1st. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $615.00 price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Argus raised their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $580.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $633.68.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 400 shares of the firm’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 transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Frederick M. Lowery sold 6,913 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $597.68, for a total value of $4,131,761.84. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 14,367 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,586,868.56. This represents a 32.49% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 98,271 shares of company stock valued at $56,920,935 in the last 90 days. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Price Performance

Shares of TMO stock opened at $515.79 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 1.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 12 month low of $385.46 and a 12 month high of $643.99. The firm has a market cap of $193.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.07, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.93. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $576.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $547.48.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 15.05% and a return on equity of 16.92%. The company had revenue of $12.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.95 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $6.10 EPS. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 23.28 EPS for the current year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, November 6th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the medical research company to repurchase up to 2.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Thermo Fisher Scientific 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.