WASHINGTON TRUST Co Sells 2,156 Shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

WASHINGTON TRUST Co reduced its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 98,387 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 2,156 shares during the quarter. Thermo Fisher Scientific makes up 1.8% of WASHINGTON TRUST Co’s holdings, making the stock its 14th largest position. WASHINGTON TRUST Co’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $51,184,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,659,943 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $4,719,477,000 after buying an additional 127,564 shares during the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 11.4% during the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 9,705 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $5,972,000 after acquiring an additional 995 shares during the last quarter. Greenwood Gearhart Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 9.8% during the third quarter. Greenwood Gearhart Inc. now owns 20,579 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $12,730,000 after acquiring an additional 1,837 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 23.6% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 55,452 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $28,868,000 after purchasing an additional 10,606 shares in the last quarter. Finally, S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC increased its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC now owns 10,626 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $5,528,000 after purchasing an additional 618 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.23% of the company’s stock.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Price Performance

Thermo Fisher Scientific stock opened at $532.58 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.66. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $548.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $571.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $203.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.22, a P/E/G ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.77. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 1 year low of $493.30 and a 1 year high of $627.88.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $6.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.94 by $0.16. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 17.51%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 23.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Friday, November 15th that authorizes the company to buyback $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the medical research company to buy up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $630.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $632.00 to $622.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $605.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $620.00 to $610.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $667.00 price objective (up from $650.00) on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $658.00.

Insider Transactions at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In other news, CFO Stephen Williamson sold 9,825 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $585.59, for a total transaction of $5,753,421.75. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 27,296 shares in the company, valued at $15,984,264.64. The trade was a 26.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 300 shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $585.59, for a total value of $175,677.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,363 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,582,009.17. The trade was a 1.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 20,125 shares of company stock valued at $11,231,699 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.