Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. Lowers Stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. reduced its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 2.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,357 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 37 shares during the period. Symphony Financial Ltd. Co.’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $778,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Independence Bank of Kentucky grew its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 21.0% during the fourth quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 3,825 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,990,000 after buying an additional 663 shares during the period. Marietta Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Marietta Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,027 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $7,297,000 after purchasing an additional 708 shares during the period. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 37.8% in the fourth quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,891 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $984,000 after purchasing an additional 519 shares during the period. Destiny Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the fourth quarter worth about $220,000. Finally, Everett Harris & Co. CA boosted its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Everett Harris & Co. CA now owns 14,506 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $7,546,000 after purchasing an additional 362 shares in the last quarter. 89.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In related news, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $558.12, for a total transaction of $5,581,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 33,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,757,296.96. This represents a 22.93 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 29,000 shares of company stock worth $15,859,540 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $632.00 to $622.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $630.00 to $620.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $767.00 to $718.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $655.64.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:TMO opened at $598.40 on Friday. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 12 month low of $493.30 and a 12 month high of $627.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $228.89 billion, a PE ratio of 37.52, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.76. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $541.37 and a 200-day moving average of $570.96.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $6.10 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.94 by $0.16. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a return on equity of 17.49% and a net margin of 14.48%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 21.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Friday, November 15th that allows the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the medical research company to repurchase up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were given a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.26%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.78%.

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.