Haverford Trust Co Lowers Stock Position in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Haverford Trust Co cut its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 21.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 191,569 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 50,948 shares during the quarter. Thermo Fisher Scientific comprises approximately 1.1% of Haverford Trust Co’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Haverford Trust Co’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $101,683,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in TMO. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 0.6% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 32,760,738 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $16,582,503,000 after purchasing an additional 180,618 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 12,418,429 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $6,285,838,000 after buying an additional 50,736 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,929,225 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,988,856,000 after acquiring an additional 99,377 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 9.8% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,080,687 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,559,351,000 after acquiring an additional 274,464 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,277,266 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,208,750,000 after purchasing an additional 92,338 shares in the last quarter. 89.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific stock traded down $1.85 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $595.30. 1,394,082 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,528,367. The firm has a market capitalization of $227.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 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. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 52-week low of $415.60 and a 52-week high of $603.82. The company has a fifty day moving average of $576.79 and a 200-day moving average of $540.89.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a net margin of 14.20% and a return on equity of 18.45%. The company had revenue of $10.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.14 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 21.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This is an increase from Thermo Fisher Scientific’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s payout ratio is 10.01%.

Insider Transactions at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In other news, SVP Michael A. Boxer sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $567.94, for a total value of $1,135,880.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 13,083 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,430,359.02. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $572.41, for a total value of $5,724,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 123,816 shares in the company, valued at $70,873,516.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael A. Boxer sold 2,000 shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $567.94, for a total transaction of $1,135,880.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,083 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,430,359.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 32,000 shares of company stock worth $18,486,980 in the last three months. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on TMO. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $621.00 to $620.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Raymond James raised their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $515.00 to $605.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. HSBC upped their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $660.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $592.00 to $642.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $607.35.

About Thermo Fisher Scientific

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.