Achmea Investment Management B.V. Sells 1,157 Shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Achmea Investment Management B.V. trimmed its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 14.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,905 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 1,157 shares during the quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V.’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $3,592,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Stonegate Investment Group LLC raised its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 6,788 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,531,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the period. Semus Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Semus Wealth Partners LLC now owns 471 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $245,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the period. Bangor Savings Bank raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 19 shares during the period. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC raised its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC now owns 7,463 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,882,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the period. Finally, Connable Office Inc. raised its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Connable Office Inc. now owns 5,917 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,660,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. 89.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In related news, CFO Stephen Williamson sold 9,825 shares of the business’s 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. The trade was a 26.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $585.59, for a total transaction of $175,677.00. Following the completion of 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 a total of 23,900 shares of company stock worth $13,106,062 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:TMO opened at $523.44 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $197.47 billion, a PE ratio of 31.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.79. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $548.54 and its 200-day moving average is $559.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.66. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 52 week low of $493.30 and a 52 week high of $627.88.

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 net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 17.51%. Sell-side analysts predict that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 23.28 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on TMO shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $660.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com raised shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $650.00 to $570.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $605.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, 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 research note on Friday, January 10th. 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 stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $653.23.

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.