Covea Finance Sells 5,410 Shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Covea Finance decreased its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 5.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 99,201 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 5,410 shares during the period. Thermo Fisher Scientific comprises 2.3% of Covea Finance’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Covea Finance’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $51,607,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 1.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,659,943 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $4,719,477,000 after purchasing an additional 127,564 shares in the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 11.4% during the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 9,705 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $5,972,000 after buying an additional 995 shares in the last quarter. Greenwood Gearhart Inc. grew its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 9.8% during the 3rd quarter. Greenwood Gearhart Inc. now owns 20,579 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $12,730,000 after acquiring an additional 1,837 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 23.6% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 55,452 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $28,868,000 after acquiring an additional 10,606 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 6.2% during the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 140,708 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $87,093,000 after purchasing an additional 8,180 shares in the last quarter. 89.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In other Thermo Fisher Scientific news, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $530.26, for a total transaction of $5,302,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 111,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $58,960,669.92. This represents a 8.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Michael A. Boxer sold 2,000 shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $560.16, for a total transaction of $1,120,320.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 12,736 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,134,197.76. This trade represents a 13.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 47,150 shares of company stock worth $25,954,465 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $680.00 to $665.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $650.00 to $670.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Stephens initiated coverage on Thermo Fisher Scientific in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. They set an “overweight” rating and a $680.00 price objective for the company. Bernstein Bank raised their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $565.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Redburn Atlantic started coverage on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a report on Monday, October 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $680.00 price objective on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Thermo Fisher Scientific has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $648.95.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of TMO stock opened at $557.49 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $213.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.95, a P/E/G ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.76. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 12-month low of $493.30 and a 12-month high of $627.88. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $529.85 and a 200-day moving average of $568.13. 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 (NYSE:TMO) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $10.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.63 billion. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a return on equity of 17.49% and a net margin of 14.48%. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.69 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 21.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific announced 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 buy up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.28%. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s payout ratio is currently 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.