American Century Companies Inc. Purchases 170,888 Shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. $TMO

American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 166.4% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 273,615 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 170,888 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $132,709,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Argent Trust Co grew its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 5.5% during the third quarter. Argent Trust Co now owns 21,571 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $10,462,000 after purchasing an additional 1,125 shares in the last quarter. Compass Capital Corp MA ADV lifted its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 4.2% during the third quarter. Compass Capital Corp MA ADV now owns 741 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $359,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Ninepoint Partners LP purchased a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $254,000. Allianz SE increased its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Allianz SE now owns 15,552 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $7,543,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 1ST Source Bank raised its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. 1ST Source Bank now owns 16,135 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $7,826,000 after buying an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. 89.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In other Thermo Fisher Scientific news, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $541.20, for a total value of $216,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 20,752 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,230,982.40. This trade represents a 1.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Frederick M. Lowery sold 6,912 shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $581.94, for a total value of $4,022,369.28. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 14,367 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,360,731.98. This represents a 32.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 91,358 shares of company stock valued at $52,789,173 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific stock opened at $520.80 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a current ratio of 1.89. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 52-week low of $385.46 and a 52-week high of $643.99. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $574.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $548.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $193.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.36, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.96.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The medical research company reported $6.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.45 by $0.12. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a net margin of 15.05% and a return on equity of 16.92%. The business had revenue of $12.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.95 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $6.10 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 23.28 EPS for the current year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, November 6th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the medical research company to reacquire up to 2.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.47 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. This is a boost from Thermo Fisher Scientific’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.70%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

TMO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Robert W. Baird set a $653.00 price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific in a report on Friday, January 30th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $615.00 price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a report on Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $656.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $583.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Thermo Fisher Scientific presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $633.68.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Company Profile

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE: TMO) is a global provider of scientific instrumentation, reagents and consumables, software, and services that support research, clinical, and industrial laboratories. The company supplies analytical instruments and laboratory equipment, life sciences reagents and kits, specialty diagnostics, and a broad range of consumables used by researchers, clinicians, and manufacturers. Its offerings also include laboratory information management and data-analysis software, as well as service solutions such as instrument maintenance, validation, and logistics that help customers run complex workflows efficiently.

Thermo Fisher operates through multiple business areas that broadly cover life sciences solutions, analytical instruments, specialty diagnostics, and laboratory products and biopharma services, including contract development and manufacturing for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.