Essex Financial Services Inc. Has $2.96 Million Stock Position in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Essex Financial Services Inc. cut its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 3.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 5,568 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 188 shares during the period. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $2,956,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in TMO. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 61,995.4% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,009,671 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $535,923,000 after purchasing an additional 1,008,045 shares in the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P increased its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 17,046.7% in the third quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 973,591 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $492,803,000 after purchasing an additional 967,913 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 2,567.5% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 352,217 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $186,954,000 after purchasing an additional 339,013 shares during the last quarter. Rathbones Group PLC lifted its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 111.0% in the third quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 568,970 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $287,996,000 after buying an additional 299,338 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 20.3% in the 3rd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,706,179 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $863,617,000 after acquiring an additional 287,446 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.23% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Michael A. Boxer sold 14,566 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $562.00, for a total value of $8,186,092.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 12,901 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,250,362. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Thermo Fisher Scientific news, SVP Michael A. Boxer sold 14,566 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $562.00, for a total transaction of $8,186,092.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 12,901 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,250,362. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Debora L. Spar sold 164 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $546.97, for a total value of $89,703.08. Following the sale, the director now owns 1,207 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $660,192.79. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 52,277 shares of company stock worth $29,649,264 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on TMO shares. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research note on Monday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a report on Monday, March 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $620.00 target price for the company. HSBC upped their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $660.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $600.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Thermo Fisher Scientific currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $607.35.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of TMO stock traded up $5.96 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $574.68. 551,233 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,541,307. The firm has a market cap of $219.36 billion, a PE ratio of 36.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The company’s 50 day moving average is $574.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $531.67. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 1 year low of $415.60 and a 1 year high of $603.82.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The medical research company reported $5.11 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.70 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $10.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.14 billion. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a net margin of 14.20% and a return on equity of 18.45%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 21.59 EPS for the current year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.27%. This is a positive change from Thermo Fisher Scientific’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.01%.

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.