Swedbank AB Increases Stock Position in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Swedbank AB boosted its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 19.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,423,155 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 228,475 shares during the period. Thermo Fisher Scientific accounts for 0.9% of Swedbank AB’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Swedbank AB’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $740,368,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Missouri Trust & Investment Co purchased a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 3rd quarter worth about $50,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on TMO. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $630.00 to $620.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on Thermo Fisher Scientific in a report on Monday, October 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $680.00 target price on the stock. Scotiabank started coverage on Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $605.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $670.00 to $660.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Stephens assumed coverage on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $680.00 price target on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $648.95.

Insider Buying and Selling at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In other news, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 111,192 shares in the company, valued at $58,960,669.92. The trade was a 8.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders sold 34,850 shares of company stock worth $19,123,197 in the last quarter. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:TMO traded down $11.91 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $572.38. 357,176 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,898,015. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The stock has a market cap of $218.93 billion, a PE ratio of 35.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.82 and a beta of 0.76. The business’s fifty day moving average is $536.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $570.35. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a one year low of $493.30 and a one year high of $627.88.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were given a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.27%. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.78%.

Thermo Fisher Scientific announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase 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 usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.