Optas LLC Has $1.20 Million Holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Optas LLC cut its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 7.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,060 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 173 shares during the quarter. Optas LLC’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $1,197,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,909,524,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 61,995.4% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,009,671 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $535,923,000 after buying an additional 1,008,045 shares in the last quarter. Veritas Asset Management LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 70.1% in the 4th quarter. Veritas Asset Management LLP now owns 1,692,148 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $898,175,000 after purchasing an additional 697,383 shares in the last quarter. Winslow Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 4th quarter worth about $333,786,000. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 33.1% in the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 2,228,730 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,182,987,000 after purchasing an additional 553,695 shares in the last quarter. 89.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE:TMO traded up $2.22 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $553.00. 6,150,885 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,473,906. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.33. The firm has a market cap of $211.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.47, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.79. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 52-week low of $415.60 and a 52-week high of $603.82. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $574.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $563.36.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The medical research company reported $5.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.70 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $10.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.14 billion. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a net margin of 14.20% and a return on equity of 18.45%. As a group, analysts predict that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 21.65 EPS for the current year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.28%. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.01%.

Insider Transactions at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In related news, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $572.41, for a total transaction of $5,724,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 123,816 shares in the company, valued at $70,873,516.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $572.41, for a total transaction of $5,724,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 123,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $70,873,516.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Michael A. Boxer sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $567.94, for a total transaction of $1,135,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,083 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,430,359.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 22,000 shares of company stock valued at $12,532,780 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on TMO. Citigroup initiated coverage on Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research note on Monday, March 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $620.00 price target on the stock. Barclays reduced their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $615.00 to $600.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $621.00 to $620.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $575.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $550.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $607.06.

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.