Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) Stock Holdings Lessened by Magnetar Financial LLC

Magnetar Financial LLC trimmed its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 125,937 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 2,674 shares during the quarter. Thermo Fisher Scientific accounts for 1.6% of Magnetar Financial LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Magnetar Financial LLC’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $65,516,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Barrett & Company Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Missouri Trust & Investment Co bought a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 89.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on TMO. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $605.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $650.00 to $570.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $675.00 to $660.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Royal Bank of Canada set a $693.00 price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised 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 report 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. According to MarketBeat, Thermo Fisher Scientific presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $653.23.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Thermo Fisher Scientific news, CFO Stephen Williamson sold 9,825 shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific stock in a transaction 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 $15,984,264.64. The trade was a 26.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Michael A. Boxer sold 3,775 shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $532.52, for a total value of $2,010,263.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 10,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,759,736.32. The trade was a 25.87 % 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 worth $13,106,062 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific stock opened at $518.21 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $547.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $557.21. The company has a market cap of $195.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.35, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.79. 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 Inc. has a 1 year low of $493.30 and a 1 year high of $627.88.

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

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

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

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.