BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. Increases Stock Holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. grew its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 0.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 183,156 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,565 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A.’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $106,452,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,909,524,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 61,995.4% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,009,671 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $535,923,000 after purchasing an additional 1,008,045 shares during the last quarter. Veritas Asset Management LLP grew its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 70.1% during the fourth quarter. Veritas Asset Management LLP now owns 1,692,148 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $898,175,000 after purchasing an additional 697,383 shares in the last quarter. Winslow Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the fourth quarter valued at $333,786,000. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 33.1% during the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 2,228,730 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,182,987,000 after buying an additional 553,695 shares during the last quarter. 89.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In related news, SVP Michael A. Boxer sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $567.94, for a total value of $1,135,880.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 13,083 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,430,359.02. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, SVP Michael A. Boxer sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $567.94, for a total value of $1,135,880.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,083 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,430,359.02. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $572.41, for a total value of $5,724,100.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 123,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $70,873,516.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 22,000 shares of company stock valued at $12,532,780. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TMO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $650.00 target price (up previously from $600.00) on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research report on Monday, June 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $550.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $600.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $615.00 to $600.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Thermo Fisher Scientific currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $605.63.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Performance

Shares of TMO stock traded down $0.36 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $555.06. The stock had a trading volume of 1,129,167 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,529,057. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $415.60 and a fifty-two week high of $603.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.33. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $566.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $564.45. The firm has a market cap of $211.88 billion, a PE ratio of 35.60, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.77.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The medical research company reported $5.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.70 by $0.41. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a return on equity of 18.45% and a net margin of 14.20%. The company had revenue of $10.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.14 billion. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 21.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.28%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.01%.

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.