Kentucky Retirement Systems Decreases Holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Kentucky Retirement Systems lessened its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 4.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 30,914 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 1,568 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $16,409,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of TMO. Northwest Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 49.1% in the 3rd quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 82 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC grew its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 107.0% in the fourth quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 89 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Finally, Operose Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 250.0% during the third quarter. Operose Advisors LLC now owns 105 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. 89.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Trading Down 0.3 %

TMO traded down $1.85 during trading on Friday, reaching $595.30. The company had a trading volume of 1,398,449 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,463,725. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $576.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $542.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 1.70. The company has a market cap of $227.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.18, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.80. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 12-month low of $415.60 and a 12-month high of $603.82.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The medical research company reported $5.11 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $10.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.14 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 21.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.26%. 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 payout ratio is presently 10.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Michael A. Boxer sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 26th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $7,430,359.02. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Thermo Fisher Scientific news, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $564.72, for a total value of $5,647,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 128,485 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $72,558,049.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael A. Boxer sold 2,000 shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 13,083 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,430,359.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 32,000 shares of company stock valued at $18,486,980. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $575.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Barclays raised their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $590.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. 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 report on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of 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. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock 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.