Weatherly Asset Management L. P. Decreases Holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Weatherly Asset Management L. P. reduced its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 11.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 567 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 75 shares during the quarter. Weatherly Asset Management L. P.’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $301,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of TMO. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 49.1% in the third quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 82 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the period. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 107.0% during the fourth quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 89 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Operose Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 250.0% in the third quarter. Operose Advisors LLC now owns 105 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 4th quarter valued at about $53,000. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 40.5% in the 3rd quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 111 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the period. 89.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Performance

Thermo Fisher Scientific stock traded up $0.59 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $575.18. 1,033,185 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,555,087. The firm has a market capitalization of $219.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The business has a 50 day moving average of $572.03 and a two-hundred day moving average of $528.72. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 12 month low of $415.60 and a 12 month high of $603.82.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The medical research company reported $5.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.64 by $0.03. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a return on equity of 18.78% and a net margin of 13.99%. The business had revenue of $10.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.73 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.40 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 21.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.27%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Thermo Fisher Scientific’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s payout ratio is currently 10.10%.

Insider Transactions at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In other Thermo Fisher Scientific news, SVP Michael A. Boxer sold 14,566 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $562.00, for a total transaction of $8,186,092.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 12,901 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,250,362. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $555.63, for a total transaction of $5,556,300.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 49,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,311,992.65. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael A. Boxer sold 14,566 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $562.00, for a total value of $8,186,092.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 12,901 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,250,362. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 50,277 shares of company stock valued at $28,513,384 over the last quarter. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TMO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $550.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Barclays lowered Thermo Fisher Scientific from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $475.00 to $555.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $575.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a report on Monday, March 18th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $620.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $515.00 to $605.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $604.69.

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.