Harrington Investments INC Cuts Position in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Harrington Investments INC cut its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,049 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 112 shares during the period. Thermo Fisher Scientific comprises approximately 2.9% of Harrington Investments INC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Harrington Investments INC’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $5,228,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Howard Capital Management Group LLC boosted its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 0.5% during the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 54,575 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $33,759,000 after purchasing an additional 286 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake 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 buying an additional 225,568 shares in the last quarter. Curi RMB Capital LLC increased its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 6.1% during the third quarter. Curi RMB Capital LLC now owns 17,483 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $10,814,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Lifeworks Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the third quarter valued at $225,000. Finally, Balboa Wealth Partners grew its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 59.7% in the 3rd quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners now owns 883 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $546,000 after acquiring an additional 330 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.23% of the company’s stock.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Price Performance

TMO stock opened at $523.44 on Friday. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 12 month low of $493.30 and a 12 month high of $627.88. The firm has a market cap of $197.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $548.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $559.53.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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%. On average, analysts anticipate that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 23.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Friday, November 15th that permits the company to buyback $4.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the medical research company to buy up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Michael A. Boxer sold 3,775 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $532.52, for a total transaction of $2,010,263.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 10,816 shares in the company, valued at $5,759,736.32. The trade was a 25.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $516.67, for a total transaction of $5,166,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 115,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $59,506,950.58. The trade was a 7.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 23,900 shares of company stock valued at $13,106,062 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on TMO. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $700.00 to $715.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America reduced their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $675.00 to $660.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $667.00 price target (up previously from $650.00) on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $660.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $605.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $653.23.

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.