Taurus Asset Management LLC Reduces Holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Taurus Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 0.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 51,819 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 159 shares during the quarter. Thermo Fisher Scientific comprises about 3.1% of Taurus Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Taurus Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $32,054,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in TMO. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 318.2% in the second quarter. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC now owns 46 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. New Millennium Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Stephens Consulting LLC grew its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 116.0% in the 2nd quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 54 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank & Trust Co acquired a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Institutional investors own 89.23% of the company’s stock.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Performance

TMO stock opened at $513.08 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $196.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.17, a P/E/G ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.79. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $586.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $582.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 12 month low of $464.17 and a 12 month high of $627.88.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The medical research company reported $5.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.25 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $10.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.69 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 21.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share 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 often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s payout ratio is 9.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $554.29, for a total value of $5,542,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 121,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $67,175,513.68. This trade represents a 7.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 300 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 value of $168,048.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,663 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,333,946.08. This represents a 1.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 37,150 shares of company stock valued at $20,651,865. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on TMO. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $625.00 to $620.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $630.00 to $620.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $680.00 to $665.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $620.00 to $610.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $649.33.

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.