West Branch Capital LLC Lowers Stock Position in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

West Branch Capital LLC lessened its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 1.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,712 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 40 shares during the period. West Branch Capital LLC’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $1,411,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 0.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,318,961 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $10,100,655,000 after purchasing an additional 124,996 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 19.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,877,459 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $4,872,761,000 after buying an additional 1,294,453 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 1.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,659,943 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $4,719,477,000 after acquiring an additional 127,564 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 5.7% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,853,133 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,935,377,000 after acquiring an additional 262,062 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 2.6% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,636,558 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,630,896,000 after purchasing an additional 65,586 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 news, SVP Michael A. Boxer sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $560.16, for a total value of $1,120,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 12,736 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,134,197.76. This represents a 13.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $554.29, for a total transaction of $5,542,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 121,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $67,175,513.68. This trade represents a 7.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 47,150 shares of company stock worth $25,954,465. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Up 2.4 %

TMO stock opened at $572.85 on Wednesday. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a one year low of $493.30 and a one year high of $627.88. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $530.22 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $568.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $219.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.92, a PEG ratio of 3.71 and a beta of 0.76.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The medical research company reported $5.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.25 by $0.03. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a net margin of 14.48% and a return on equity of 17.49%. The company had revenue of $10.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.63 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.69 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 21.68 EPS for the current year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Friday, November 15th that permits the company to buyback $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the medical research company to reacquire up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.27%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on TMO. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target 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. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $670.00 to $647.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Stephens initiated coverage on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $680.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America cut their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $675.00 to $660.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $767.00 to $718.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $648.95.

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.