Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. $TMO

Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. lessened its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 125,513 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 4,403 shares during the quarter. Thermo Fisher Scientific comprises 1.1% of Harvest Portfolios Group Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 26th largest position. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc.’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $60,876,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. TIAA Trust National Association grew its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 10.5% in the 2nd quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 123,948 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $50,256,000 after buying an additional 11,817 shares in the last quarter. Lombard Odier Asset Management Switzerland SA grew its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 8.4% in the second quarter. Lombard Odier Asset Management Switzerland SA now owns 14,490 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $5,875,000 after purchasing an additional 1,128 shares during the period. Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the third quarter worth about $41,393,000. Weaver Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 3rd quarter valued at about $506,000. Finally, VELA Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 65.5% in the 3rd quarter. VELA Investment Management LLC now owns 9,305 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,513,000 after buying an additional 3,683 shares during the period. 89.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Thermo Fisher Scientific news, EVP Frederick M. Lowery sold 6,913 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 14,367 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,586,868.56. This represents a 32.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Michel Lagarde sold 32,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $583.39, for a total transaction of $18,668,480.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 65,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,200,377.20. The trade was a 32.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 98,271 shares of company stock worth $56,920,935 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Performance

Shares of TMO stock opened at $520.80 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $195.67 billion, a PE ratio of 29.36, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.93. 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 52 week low of $385.46 and a 52 week high of $643.99. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $574.24 and a two-hundred day moving average of $547.46.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The medical research company reported $6.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.45 by $0.12. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a return on equity of 16.92% and a net margin of 15.05%.The firm had revenue of $12.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.95 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $6.10 earnings per share. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 23.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, November 6th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the medical research company to buy up to 2.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a $0.47 dividend. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. This is a positive change from Thermo Fisher Scientific’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s dividend payout ratio is 9.70%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on TMO shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $583.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 9th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $615.00 target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research report on Friday, January 30th. HSBC upgraded shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $633.68.

About Thermo Fisher Scientific

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.