Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI Sells 49,375 Shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI trimmed its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 37.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 84,045 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 49,375 shares during the period. Thermo Fisher Scientific comprises about 1.1% of Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $43,723,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of TMO. State Street Corp increased its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,318,961 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $10,100,655,000 after purchasing an additional 124,996 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 19.7% in 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. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,659,943 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,719,477,000 after buying an additional 127,564 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,853,133 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,935,377,000 after acquiring an additional 262,062 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 15.0% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,810,128 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,461,913,000 after acquiring an additional 366,191 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.23% of the company’s stock.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Down 1.1 %

NYSE:TMO opened at $523.00 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $549.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $564.35. The firm has a market cap of $197.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.77. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $493.30 and a fifty-two week high of $627.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.66.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $6.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.94 by $0.16. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a return on equity of 17.51% and a net margin of 14.78%. Analysts predict that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 23.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.33%. This is a boost from Thermo Fisher Scientific’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.41%.

Thermo Fisher Scientific declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Friday, November 15th that allows the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the medical research company to buy up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on TMO. UBS Group raised their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $700.00 to $715.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Scotiabank upped their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $605.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $660.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada set a $693.00 target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $656.86.

Insider Transactions at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In related news, CFO Stephen Williamson sold 9,825 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 27,296 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $585.59, for a total value of $175,677.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,363 shares in the company, valued at $9,582,009.17. The trade was a 1.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.