Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) Shares Bought by Highland Capital Management LLC

Highland Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO - Free Report) by 10.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 33,979 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,102 shares during the quarter. Thermo Fisher Scientific makes up approximately 1.0% of Highland Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. Highland Capital Management LLC's holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $17,677,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 76,051.4% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,416,416 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $876,152,000 after acquiring an additional 1,414,556 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 19.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,877,459 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $4,872,761,000 after buying an additional 1,294,453 shares during the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 3rd quarter valued at $254,412,000. Lindsell Train Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 4th quarter worth $211,858,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 5.7% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,853,133 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $2,935,377,000 after purchasing an additional 262,062 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.23% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on TMO shares. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $656.00 to $686.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Bank of America cut their price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $675.00 to $660.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $680.00 to $665.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $670.00 to $660.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $620.00 to $610.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $648.95.

Insider Activity at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In related news, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $558.12, for a total transaction of $5,581,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 33,608 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,757,296.96. This represents a 22.93 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 34,850 shares of company stock valued at $19,123,197 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Up 6.4 %

Shares of TMO traded up $36.50 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $604.73. 2,380,904 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,054,990. The company has a market cap of $231.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.09, a P/E/G ratio of 3.82 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 1-year low of $493.30 and a 1-year high of $627.88. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $537.83 and a 200-day moving average price of $570.33.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $6.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.94 by $0.16. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a net margin of 14.48% and a return on equity of 17.49%. Research analysts expect that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 21.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.26%. Thermo Fisher Scientific's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.78%.

Thermo Fisher Scientific declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Friday, November 15th that authorizes the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the medical research company to purchase up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is 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.