Knuff & Co LLC Decreases Stock Position in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Knuff & Co LLC reduced its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,295 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 218 shares during the period. Thermo Fisher Scientific accounts for 1.6% of Knuff & Co LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Knuff & Co LLC’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $5,356,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of TMO. Howard Capital Management Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 0.5% in the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 54,575 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $33,759,000 after acquiring an additional 286 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 22.1% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,247,838 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $771,876,000 after acquiring an additional 225,568 shares during the period. Tyler Stone Wealth Management raised its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 267.3% during the third quarter. Tyler Stone Wealth Management now owns 371 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $229,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 114.5% during the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 12,102 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $7,486,000 after buying an additional 6,459 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Apollon Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,042 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $6,830,000 after purchasing an additional 423 shares during the last quarter. 89.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

TMO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group raised their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $700.00 to $715.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Scotiabank raised their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $605.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. 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 for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $675.00 to $660.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $667.00 price objective (up from $650.00) on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $653.23.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Trading Down 2.4 %

Shares of NYSE:TMO opened at $514.40 on Wednesday. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 12-month low of $493.30 and a 12-month high of $627.88. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $549.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $560.79. The company has a market capitalization of $194.06 billion, a PE ratio of 31.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

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

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Thermo Fisher Scientific’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.33%. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.41%.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Thermo Fisher Scientific news, CFO Stephen Williamson sold 9,825 shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $585.59, for a total value of $5,753,421.75. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 27,296 shares in the company, valued at $15,984,264.64. This trade represents a 26.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Michael A. Boxer sold 3,775 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $532.52, for a total transaction of $2,010,263.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 10,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,759,736.32. The trade was a 25.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 23,900 shares of company stock worth $13,106,062 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.