Sienna Gestion Invests $5.36 Million in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Sienna Gestion purchased a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 10,312 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,364,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Howard Capital Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 0.5% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 22.1% in 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 acquiring an additional 225,568 shares in the last quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the third quarter worth about $200,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 7,547 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,664,000 after acquiring an additional 523 shares during the period. Finally, Fortis Capital Management LLC increased its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Fortis Capital Management LLC now owns 1,599 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $989,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. 89.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific stock opened at $508.62 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $191.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.79. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $548.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $560.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $493.30 and a fifty-two week high of $627.88.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $6.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.94 by $0.16. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a return on equity of 17.51% and a net margin of 14.78%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 23.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. This is a boost from Thermo Fisher Scientific’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.34%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s payout ratio is currently 10.41%.

Thermo Fisher Scientific declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Friday, November 15th that authorizes the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the medical research company to buy up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

TMO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $605.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $700.00 to $715.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $650.00 to $570.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $660.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $647.00 to $678.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Thermo Fisher Scientific has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $653.23.

Insider Activity at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In related news, SVP Michael A. Boxer sold 3,775 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $532.52, for a total transaction of $2,010,263.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 10,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,759,736.32. This trade represents a 25.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $516.67, for a total transaction of $5,166,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 115,174 shares in the company, valued at $59,506,950.58. This represents a 7.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 23,900 shares of company stock worth $13,106,062 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

About Thermo Fisher Scientific

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.