Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) is Stockbridge Partners LLC’s 6th Largest Position

Stockbridge Partners LLC reduced its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 8.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 576,583 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 55,835 shares during the period. Thermo Fisher Scientific accounts for about 7.2% of Stockbridge Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Stockbridge Partners LLC’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $356,657,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in TMO. Lafayette Investments Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 2.1% in the second quarter. Lafayette Investments Inc. now owns 830 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $459,000 after buying an additional 17 shares during the period. IFG Advisors LLC increased its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 3.3% in the third quarter. IFG Advisors LLC now owns 532 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $329,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the period. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. lifted its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 1.8% during the second quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. now owns 1,031 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $570,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 0.9% in the second quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,123 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,175,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quent Capital LLC increased its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,886 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,043,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TMO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $632.00 to $622.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Stephens started coverage on Thermo Fisher Scientific in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $680.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $630.00 to $620.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $650.00 to $670.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Thermo Fisher Scientific currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $649.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In related news, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 9,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $552.86, for a total value of $4,975,740.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,608 shares in the company, valued at $8,076,178.88. The trade was a 38.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael A. Boxer sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $560.16, for a total transaction of $1,120,320.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 12,736 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,134,197.76. This represents a 13.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 37,150 shares of company stock valued at $20,651,865. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Performance

Shares of TMO opened at $521.66 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.63. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $568.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of $578.38. The stock has a market cap of $199.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.71, a P/E/G ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.79. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a one year low of $480.57 and a one year high of $627.88.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The medical research company reported $5.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.25 by $0.03. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a return on equity of 17.49% and a net margin of 14.48%. The firm had revenue of $10.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.63 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.69 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 21.67 EPS for the current year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.30%. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.78%.

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 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.