South Dakota Investment Council Boosts Holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

South Dakota Investment Council lifted its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 16.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,084 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $1,106,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 4th quarter valued at $1,288,000. Harbor Advisors LLC grew its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 50.0% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Advisors LLC now owns 3,000 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,592,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 15.4% during the 4th quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,784 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $947,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. Monument Group Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 4th quarter worth $425,000. Finally, Marks Group Wealth Management Inc grew its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc now owns 8,857 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $4,701,000 after purchasing an additional 504 shares during the last quarter. 89.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Michael A. Boxer sold 14,566 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $562.00, for a total value of $8,186,092.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 12,901 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,250,362. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $555.63, for a total value of $5,556,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 49,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,311,992.65. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Michael A. Boxer sold 14,566 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $562.00, for a total transaction of $8,186,092.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 12,901 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,250,362. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 50,277 shares of company stock valued at $28,513,384 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TMO has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays downgraded shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $475.00 to $555.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a report on Monday, March 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $620.00 target price on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a report on Monday, January 8th. HSBC lifted their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $630.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted 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. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Thermo Fisher Scientific currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $602.81.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Performance

Shares of TMO opened at $577.62 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The stock has a market cap of $220.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.39, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a 50-day moving average of $572.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $529.06. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 12-month low of $415.60 and a 12-month high of $603.82.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The medical research company reported $5.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.70 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $10.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.14 billion. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a net margin of 13.99% and a return on equity of 18.78%. As a group, research analysts predict that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 21.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.27%. This is a boost from Thermo Fisher Scientific’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s payout ratio is presently 10.10%.

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.