Lazard Asset Management LLC Acquires 42,767 Shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. $TMO

Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,600,614 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 42,767 shares during the period. Thermo Fisher Scientific makes up about 0.9% of Lazard Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.42% of Thermo Fisher Scientific worth $648,983,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in TMO. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 137.5% in the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 57 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC acquired a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the first quarter valued at about $30,000. Keystone Global Partners LLC bought a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the first quarter worth about $31,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. grew its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 406.7% during the 2nd quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 76 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. Finally, HighMark Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 140.6% in the 2nd quarter. HighMark Wealth Management LLC now owns 77 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.23% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Michel Lagarde sold 32,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $583.39, for a total transaction of $18,668,480.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 65,480 shares in the company, valued at $38,200,377.20. This represents a 32.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Frederick M. Lowery sold 6,913 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $597.68, for a total transaction of $4,131,761.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 14,367 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,586,868.56. This represents a 32.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 149,271 shares of company stock worth $86,507,282. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on TMO shares. William Blair started coverage on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a report on Monday, August 18th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Barclays lifted their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Thermo Fisher Scientific in a report on Tuesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $685.00 price target for the company. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $614.60.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Price Performance

Shares of TMO opened at $572.03 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $565.86 and a 200-day moving average of $490.95. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $214.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.05, a P/E/G ratio of 4.23 and a beta of 0.90. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a twelve month low of $385.46 and a twelve month high of $610.97.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $5.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.50 by $0.29. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a net margin of 15.02% and a return on equity of 16.97%. The business had revenue of $11.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.28 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Thermo Fisher Scientific has set its FY 2025 guidance at 22.600-22.860 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 23.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Thermo Fisher Scientific Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be paid a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.94%.

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.