Generali Investments Management Co LLC Invests $2.54 Million in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Generali Investments Management Co LLC purchased a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm purchased 4,875 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,536,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of TMO. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Barrett & Company Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Missouri Trust & Investment Co acquired a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. 89.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Stephen Williamson sold 9,825 shares of the business’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 $15,984,264.64. The trade was a 26.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael A. Boxer sold 3,775 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $532.52, for a total transaction of $2,010,263.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 10,816 shares in the company, valued at $5,759,736.32. This represents a 25.87 % decrease in their position. 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. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on TMO. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $675.00 to $660.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com raised shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price 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. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $700.00 to $715.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $647.00 to $678.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $653.23.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Up 0.4 %

NYSE TMO opened at $521.42 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $547.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $557.48. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 12 month low of $493.30 and a 12 month high of $627.88. The company has a market capitalization of $196.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.54, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.79.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $6.10 EPS 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 23.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

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

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.