Avity Investment Management Inc. Lowers Stock Position in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Avity Investment Management Inc. lessened its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 16.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 63,059 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 12,862 shares during the period. Thermo Fisher Scientific makes up 2.6% of Avity Investment Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Avity Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $32,805,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 2nd quarter valued at $50,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 3rd quarter valued at $50,000. Finally, Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America purchased a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the third quarter valued at about $65,000. 89.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:TMO opened at $557.49 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $529.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $568.13. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $493.30 and a fifty-two week high of $627.88. The company has a market cap of $213.24 billion, a PE ratio of 34.95, a P/E/G ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.76.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The medical research company reported $5.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.25 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $10.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.63 billion. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a return on equity of 17.49% and a net margin of 14.48%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.69 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 21.68 EPS for the current year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.28%. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.78%.

Thermo Fisher Scientific announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Friday, November 15th that authorizes the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the medical research company to repurchase up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on TMO. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $670.00 to $647.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Bernstein Bank raised their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $565.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $675.00 to $660.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $670.00 to $660.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $648.95.

Insider Activity at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In other news, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $560.16, for a total transaction of $168,048.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,663 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,333,946.08. The trade was a 1.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $554.29, for a total value of $5,542,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 121,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $67,175,513.68. This represents a 7.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 47,150 shares of company stock worth $25,954,465 in the last ninety days. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Company 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.