ING Groep NV Increases Stock Position in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

ING Groep NV grew its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO - Free Report) by 84.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 158,853 shares of the medical research company's stock after acquiring an additional 72,865 shares during the period. ING Groep NV's holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $82,640,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of TMO. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 1,414,556 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of 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 period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the third quarter valued at $254,412,000. Lindsell Train Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 4th quarter valued at about $211,858,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in 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 worth $2,935,377,000 after purchasing an additional 262,062 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.23% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In other Thermo Fisher Scientific news, CFO Stephen Williamson sold 9,825 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $585.59, for a total transaction of $5,753,421.75. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 27,296 shares in the company, valued at $15,984,264.64. This represents a 26.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $530.26, for a total value of $5,302,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 111,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $58,960,669.92. This trade represents a 8.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 20,125 shares of company stock valued at $11,231,699 over the last three months. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $632.00 to $622.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Bank of America dropped their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $675.00 to $660.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com upgraded Thermo Fisher Scientific from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $630.00 to $620.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $605.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Thermo Fisher Scientific presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $658.00.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:TMO traded down $5.28 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $532.55. The company had a trading volume of 1,613,862 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,087,588. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 52-week low of $493.30 and a 52-week high of $627.88. The company's 50 day moving average price is $548.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $568.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The stock has a market cap of $203.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.77.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $6.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.94 by $0.16. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 17.51%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate 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 buyback plan on Friday, November 15th that authorizes the company to buyback $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the medical research company to purchase up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.32%. This is a positive change from Thermo Fisher Scientific's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Thermo Fisher Scientific's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.44%.

About Thermo Fisher Scientific

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.