B&L Asset Management LLC Invests $5.25 Million in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

B&L Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 8,489 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,251,000. Thermo Fisher Scientific comprises approximately 3.3% of B&L Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in TMO. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the second quarter valued at approximately $117,000. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Quent Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. raised its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 30.7% in the 2nd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 3,174 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,845,000 after purchasing an additional 745 shares during the period. Finally, Trust Co. of Vermont grew its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 3.6% during the second quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 41,866 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $23,152,000 after purchasing an additional 1,453 shares during the period. 89.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Price Performance

TMO stock opened at $529.63 on Friday. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 52 week low of $487.06 and a 52 week high of $627.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $202.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $566.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $577.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The medical research company reported $5.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $10.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.63 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.69 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 21.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $0.39 dividend. 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 0.29%. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.78%.

Thermo Fisher Scientific announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Friday, November 15th that authorizes the company to buyback $4.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the medical research company to purchase up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on TMO. Stephens assumed coverage on Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. They set an “overweight” rating and a $680.00 price objective on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $680.00 to $665.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $655.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $767.00 to $718.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic started coverage on Thermo Fisher Scientific in a report on Monday, October 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $680.00 price target on the stock. Four 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $649.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In related news, SVP Michael A. Boxer sold 2,000 shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 12,736 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,134,197.76. The trade was a 13.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $560.16, for a total transaction of $168,048.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,663 shares in the company, valued at $9,333,946.08. This trade represents a 1.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 37,150 shares of company stock worth $20,651,865 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.