Mizuho Securities USA LLC Boosts Stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 149.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 73,284 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 43,856 shares during the quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $45,331,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 76,051.4% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,416,416 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $876,152,000 after buying an additional 1,414,556 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 10.0% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 13,493,852 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $7,842,762,000 after acquiring an additional 1,231,059 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the first quarter worth $705,636,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 32.2% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,481,257 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,372,157,000 after purchasing an additional 604,895 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 743.6% during the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 336,537 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $186,105,000 after buying an additional 296,646 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.23% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In related news, SVP Michael A. Boxer sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $560.16, for a total transaction of $1,120,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 12,736 shares in the company, valued at $7,134,197.76. The trade was a 13.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 9,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $552.86, for a total value of $4,975,740.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,608 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,076,178.88. The trade was a 38.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 37,150 shares of company stock valued at $20,651,865 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Down 3.7 %

Shares of NYSE TMO opened at $513.08 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $196.25 billion, a PE ratio of 32.17, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a 50-day moving average of $586.43 and a 200 day moving average of $582.24. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 12-month low of $464.17 and a 12-month high of $627.88. 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 (NYSE:TMO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The medical research company reported $5.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.25 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $10.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.63 billion. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a return on equity of 17.49% and a net margin of 14.48%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.69 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 21.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase 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 reacquire up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. 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 0.30%. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Stephens began coverage on Thermo Fisher Scientific in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $680.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $655.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $650.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Thermo Fisher Scientific has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $649.33.

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.