Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Sells 32,033 Shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lowered its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 61.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,010 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 32,033 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $10,410,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 19.4% during the second quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 3,142 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,738,000 after buying an additional 510 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 5.9% during the 2nd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,297 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,376,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 1.5% in the second quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 11,337 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $6,269,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 6.2% in the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 28,900 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $15,982,000 after purchasing an additional 1,685 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 0.6% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 275,144 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $152,160,000 after buying an additional 1,598 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.23% of the company’s stock.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE TMO opened at $559.72 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The company has a 50-day moving average of $529.96 and a 200 day moving average of $568.09. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 12-month low of $493.30 and a 12-month high of $627.88. The stock has a market cap of $214.09 billion, a PE ratio of 35.09, a P/E/G ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.76.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The medical research company reported $5.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.25 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $10.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.63 billion. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a return on equity of 17.49% and a net margin of 14.48%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.69 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 21.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were given a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s payout ratio is currently 9.78%.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

TMO has been the subject of several research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $630.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a report on Monday, December 23rd. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $605.00 price target on the stock. Barclays reduced their price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $620.00 to $610.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Bernstein Bank raised their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $565.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $670.00 to $660.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $648.95.

Insider Buying and Selling at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In related news, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $560.16, for a total value of $168,048.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,663 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,333,946.08. The trade was a 1.77 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $554.29, for a total transaction of $5,542,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 121,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $67,175,513.68. This trade represents a 7.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 47,150 shares of company stock worth $25,954,465 in the last ninety days. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.