BNP Paribas Boosts Stock Holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

BNP Paribas boosted its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 45,999 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 740 shares during the quarter. Thermo Fisher Scientific comprises approximately 1.2% of BNP Paribas’ holdings, making the stock its 26th largest holding. BNP Paribas’ holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $28,362,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 318.2% during the second quarter. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC now owns 46 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. New Millennium Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Stephens Consulting LLC grew its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 116.0% during the 2nd quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 54 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank & Trust Co bought a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the second quarter worth about $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.23% of the company’s stock.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Performance

Shares of TMO stock opened at $512.99 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The business has a fifty day moving average of $571.75 and a 200 day moving average of $579.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $196.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 0.79. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 1 year low of $480.57 and a 1 year high of $627.88.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The medical research company reported $5.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.25 by $0.03. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a return on equity of 17.49% and a net margin of 14.48%. The firm had revenue of $10.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.63 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.69 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 21.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Friday, November 15th that authorizes the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the medical research company to repurchase up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.30%. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In other Thermo Fisher Scientific news, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 9,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $552.86, for a total value of $4,975,740.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 14,608 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,076,178.88. This represents a 38.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Michael A. Boxer sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $560.16, for a total value of $1,120,320.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 12,736 shares in the company, valued at $7,134,197.76. This represents a 13.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 37,150 shares of company stock valued at $20,651,865. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on TMO shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $655.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $630.00 to $620.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $670.00 to $660.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a report on Monday, October 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $680.00 target price for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $767.00 to $718.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Thermo Fisher Scientific has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $649.33.

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.