We at Insider Monkey have gone over 700 13F filings that hedge funds and prominent investors are required to file by the SEC. The 13F filings show the funds’ and investors’ portfolio positions as of September 30. In this article we look at what those investors think of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO).
When it comes to Thermo Fisher Scientific, prominent investors seem to be taking a pessimistic view, as the number of long hedge fund positions fell by 11 in recent months. However, to get a better sense of its popularity, at the end of this article we will also compare TMO to other stocks including Time Warner Inc (NYSE:TWX), American Express Company (NYSE:AXP), and Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT).
At Insider Monkey, we’ve developed an investment strategy that has delivered market-beating returns over the past 12 months. Our strategy identifies the 100 best-performing funds of the previous quarter from among the collection of 700+ successful funds that we track in our database, which we accomplish using our returns methodology. We then study the portfolios of those 100 funds using the latest 13F data to uncover the 30 most popular mid-cap stocks (market caps of between $1 billion and $10 billion) among them to hold until the next filing period. This strategy delivered 18% gains over the past 12 months, more than doubling the 8% returns enjoyed by the S&P 500 ETFs.
Follow Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)
Follow Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)
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Now, we’re going to view the recent action encompassing Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO).
Hedge fund activity in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)
At the end of the third quarter, a total of 46 funds from the Insider Monkey database were long Thermo Fisher Scientific, down by 19% from the end of June. With the smart money’s capital changing hands, there exists a select group of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were upping their holdings considerably (or already accumulated large positions).
According to Insider Monkey’s hedge fund database, Boykin Curry’s Eagle Capital Management has the largest position in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO), worth close to $647.4 million, accounting for 2.8% of its total 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is Glenview Capital, managed by Larry Robbins, which holds a $427.3 million position; 3.1% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Other members of the smart money with similar optimism comprise Robert Joseph Caruso’s Select Equity Group, Robert Rodriguez and Steven Romick’s First Pacific Advisors LLC and Principal Global Investors’s Columbus Circle Investors.
Since Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) has faced a decline in interest from the entirety of the hedge funds we track, it’s safe to say that there lies a certain “tier” of hedgies who were dropping their full holdings by the end of the third quarter. Interestingly, Arthur B Cohen and Joseph Healey’s Healthcor Management LP sold off the biggest position of all the hedgies monitored by Insider Monkey, comprising close to $34.5 million in stock. Barry Dargan’s fund, Intermede Investment Partners, also dumped its stock, about $23 million worth.
Let’s also examine hedge fund activity in other stocks – not necessarily in the same industry as Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) but similarly valued. We will take a look at Time Warner Inc (NYSE:TWX), American Express Company (NYSE:AXP), Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT), and Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY). This group of stocks’ market caps are similar to TMO’s market cap.
| Ticker | No of HFs with positions | Total Value of HF Positions (x1000) | Change in HF Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| TWX | 56 | 3316284 | -7 |
| AXP | 49 | 12341242 | 1 |
| ABT | 52 | 1816762 | 5 |
| OXY | 40 | 1044119 | 2 |
As you can see these stocks had an average of 49 funds holding long positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $4.63 billion. That figure was $2.92 billion in Thermo Fisher Scientific’s case. Time Warner Inc (NYSE:TWX) is the most popular stock in this table with 56 funds holding shares. On the other hand Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY) is the least popular one with only 40 bullish hedge fund positions. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) is not the least popular stock in this group but hedge fund interest is still below average. This is a slightly negative signal and we’d rather spend our time researching stocks that hedge funds are piling on. In this regard Time Warner Inc (NYSE:TWX) might be a better candidate to consider a long position.
