Candriam S.C.A. Has $211.99 Million Stock Holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Candriam S.C.A. increased its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 23.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 407,490 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 78,512 shares during the quarter. Thermo Fisher Scientific makes up 1.2% of Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings, making the stock its 11th largest position. Candriam S.C.A. owned about 0.11% of Thermo Fisher Scientific worth $211,989,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of TMO. Howard Capital Management Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 54,575 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $33,759,000 after purchasing an additional 286 shares during the period. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 3rd quarter valued at about $210,000. United Advisor Group LLC raised its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 55.4% in the 3rd quarter. United Advisor Group LLC now owns 701 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $434,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the period. Catalina Capital Group LLC raised its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 16.6% in the 3rd quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 1,044 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $646,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the period. Finally, Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. raised its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. now owns 91,540 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $56,624,000 after acquiring an additional 583 shares during the period. 89.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Price Performance

Shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific stock opened at $524.63 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $197.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.66. The company has a fifty day moving average of $548.99 and a 200-day moving average of $563.46. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 52-week low of $493.30 and a 52-week high of $627.88.

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

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

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

Thermo Fisher Scientific announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Friday, November 15th that allows the company to buyback $4.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the medical research company to purchase up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on TMO. Royal Bank of Canada set a $693.00 target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $667.00 price target (up from $650.00) on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com raised shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $650.00 to $570.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, 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 research note on Friday, January 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $653.23.

Insider Activity at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In other news, CFO Stephen Williamson sold 9,825 shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $585.59, for a total value of $5,753,421.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 27,296 shares in the company, valued at $15,984,264.64. The trade was a 26.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 300 shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $585.59, for a total transaction of $175,677.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,582,009.17. This represents a 1.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.