Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Decreases Position in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank decreased its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 20.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 221,747 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 58,544 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $115,359,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of TMO. Howard Capital Management Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 0.5% during the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 54,575 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $33,759,000 after buying an additional 286 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 22.1% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,247,838 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $771,876,000 after buying an additional 225,568 shares during the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,091,000. SpiderRock Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. SpiderRock Advisors LLC now owns 3,086 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,909,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Finally, Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,047 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,503,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.23% of the company’s stock.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Performance

Shares of TMO opened at $531.74 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $549.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $561.98. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a one year low of $493.30 and a one year high of $627.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.66. The stock has a market cap of $200.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.79.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $6.10 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.94 by $0.16. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a return on equity of 17.51% and a net margin of 14.78%. As a group, research analysts predict that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 23.28 EPS for the current year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Friday, November 15th that allows the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the medical research company to reacquire up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.32%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Thermo Fisher Scientific’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s payout ratio is 10.41%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $516.67, for a total value of $5,166,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 115,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $59,506,950.58. The trade was a 7.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $585.59, for a total value of $175,677.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,582,009.17. This trade represents a 1.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 20,125 shares of company stock valued at $11,095,799 in the last quarter. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada set a $693.00 price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific in a report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com upgraded Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $675.00 to $660.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 13th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $605.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $650.00 to $570.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy 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 $653.23.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Company 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.