Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Raises Holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 15.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,575,054 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 214,985 shares during the quarter. Thermo Fisher Scientific makes up 0.8% of Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned about 0.41% of Thermo Fisher Scientific worth $837,960,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in TMO. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Barrett & Company Inc. purchased a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Missouri Trust & Investment Co acquired a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.23% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Stephen Williamson sold 9,825 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $585.59, for a total transaction of $5,753,421.75. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 27,296 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,984,264.64. This trade represents a 26.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were 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 owns 16,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,582,009.17. This trade represents a 1.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 23,900 shares of company stock valued at $13,106,062 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Performance

Shares of TMO opened at $513.40 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $543.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $553.93. The stock has a market cap of $193.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.06, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.79. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 12-month low of $493.30 and a 12-month high of $627.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

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

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.34%. This is a positive change from Thermo Fisher Scientific’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s dividend payout ratio is 10.41%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada set a $693.00 target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective 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. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $605.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $650.00 to $570.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $647.00 to $678.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $653.23.

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.