Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) Shares Sold by Diversify Advisory Services LLC

Diversify Advisory Services LLC decreased its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 4.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,349 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 174 shares during the quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $1,816,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the third quarter valued at $26,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 4th quarter valued at about $43,000. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the second quarter worth approximately $50,000. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the third quarter valued at approximately $50,000. 89.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Performance

Shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific stock opened at $559.72 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $214.09 billion, a PE ratio of 35.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.76. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 1 year low of $493.30 and a 1 year high of $627.88. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $529.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $568.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.63.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last issued its earnings results 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 return on equity of 17.49% and a net margin of 14.48%. The company had revenue of $10.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.63 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.69 earnings per share. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 21.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Thermo Fisher Scientific Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were given a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.28%. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.78%.

Insider Transactions at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In related news, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $530.26, for a total transaction of $5,302,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 111,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $58,960,669.92. The trade was a 8.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 300 shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific 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 $9,333,946.08. This represents a 1.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 47,150 shares of company stock valued at $25,954,465. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on TMO shares. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $630.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $605.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $632.00 to $622.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $767.00 to $718.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $648.95.

Thermo Fisher Scientific 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.