UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp Boosts Stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. $TMO

UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp increased its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 12.9% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 35,515 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 4,071 shares during the quarter. Thermo Fisher Scientific accounts for about 1.0% of UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest position. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $17,226,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 28.9% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,409 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,293,000 after acquiring an additional 988 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 491 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $255,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 5.6% during the 2nd quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,779 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $721,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 15.5% in the second quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC now owns 789 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $338,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 5.2% during the second quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 529 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $222,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the period. 89.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In other Thermo Fisher Scientific news, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 7,250 shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $566.10, for a total value of $4,104,225.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 113,762 shares in the company, valued at $64,400,668.20. The trade was a 5.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Lisa P. Britt sold 1,058 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $588.26, for a total transaction of $622,379.08. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 13,087 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,698,558.62. The trade was a 7.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 131,767 shares of company stock worth $76,467,793 in the last quarter. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Performance

NYSE:TMO opened at $639.03 on Friday. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 1-year low of $385.46 and a 1-year high of $643.99. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $589.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $529.43. The firm has a market cap of $240.09 billion, a PE ratio of 36.92, a P/E/G ratio of 4.19 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $5.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.50 by $0.29. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a return on equity of 16.97% and a net margin of 15.02%.The company had revenue of $11.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.90 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.28 EPS. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 23.28 EPS for the current year.

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

Thermo Fisher Scientific Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th were given a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 15th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s dividend payout ratio is 9.94%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. KeyCorp raised Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $750.00 target price for the company in a research note on Sunday, December 7th. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $650.00 price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Barclays upped their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $685.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Thermo Fisher Scientific presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $625.47.

About Thermo Fisher Scientific

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.