Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. $TMO Shares Sold by Alta Capital Management LLC

Alta Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 86,788 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 2,545 shares during the quarter. Thermo Fisher Scientific comprises 2.3% of Alta Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Alta Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $42,094,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in TMO. TIAA Trust National Association raised its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 10.5% in the 2nd quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 123,948 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $50,256,000 after purchasing an additional 11,817 shares in the last quarter. Lombard Odier Asset Management Switzerland SA increased its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 8.4% in the second quarter. Lombard Odier Asset Management Switzerland SA now owns 14,490 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $5,875,000 after buying an additional 1,128 shares during the last quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 3rd quarter worth about $506,000. Heritage Investors Management Corp boosted its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 9.6% during the 2nd quarter. Heritage Investors Management Corp now owns 56,587 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $22,944,000 after acquiring an additional 4,971 shares in the last quarter. Finally, VELA Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 65.5% during the 3rd quarter. VELA Investment Management LLC now owns 9,305 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $4,513,000 after acquiring an additional 3,683 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.23% of the company’s stock.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Trading Down 2.1%

Shares of TMO stock opened at $569.63 on Wednesday. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a twelve month low of $385.46 and a twelve month high of $643.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.89, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The business’s 50 day moving average is $593.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $540.94. The company has a market capitalization of $214.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.93.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The medical research company reported $6.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.45 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $12.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.95 billion. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a return on equity of 16.92% and a net margin of 15.05%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $6.10 earnings per share. Equities 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 share buyback plan on Thursday, November 6th that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the medical research company to reacquire up to 2.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th were paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 15th. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s payout ratio is 9.70%.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Michel Lagarde sold 22,046 shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $563.56, for a total value of $12,424,243.76. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 84,117 shares in the company, valued at $47,404,976.52. The trade was a 20.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Frederick M. Lowery sold 6,912 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 14,367 shares in the company, valued at $8,360,731.98. This represents a 32.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 124,517 shares of company stock worth $72,363,568 in the last three months. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on TMO. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a report on Friday, January 9th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, KeyCorp upgraded Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $750.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Sunday, December 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Thermo Fisher Scientific has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.