Sterling Investment Management LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Sterling Investment Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 4,575 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 64 shares during the quarter. Thermo Fisher Scientific accounts for 1.9% of Sterling Investment Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Sterling Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $2,380,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. IFG Advisors LLC raised its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 3.3% in the third quarter. IFG Advisors LLC now owns 532 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $329,000 after buying an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC now owns 4,398 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,720,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Axiom Advisory LLC grew its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 1.6% in the third quarter. Axiom Advisory LLC now owns 1,216 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $720,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 0.5% in the third quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,921 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,425,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bangor Savings Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 334 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $174,000 after buying an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. 89.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Price Performance

NYSE:TMO opened at $572.85 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $219.11 billion, a PE ratio of 35.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.71 and a beta of 0.76. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 52 week low of $493.30 and a 52 week high of $627.88. 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 stock’s 50-day moving average price is $530.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $568.73.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The medical research company reported $5.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.25 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $10.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 company posted $5.69 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 21.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.27%. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.78%.

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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on TMO shares. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research note on Monday, October 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $680.00 target price for the company. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $656.00 to $686.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays lowered their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $620.00 to $610.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com raised shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $630.00 to $620.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $648.95.

Insider Activity at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In other news, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $560.16, for a total transaction of $168,048.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,663 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,333,946.08. This represents a 1.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Michael A. Boxer sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $560.16, for a total transaction of $1,120,320.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 12,736 shares in the company, valued at $7,134,197.76. The trade was a 13.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 47,150 shares of company stock valued at $25,954,465. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.