Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Sells 1,002 Shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund decreased its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 8.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,310 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 1,002 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $6,996,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of TMO. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 318.2% during the 2nd quarter. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC now owns 46 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. New Millennium Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Stephens Consulting LLC increased its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 116.0% in the second quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 54 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Bank & Trust Co bought a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. 89.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $670.00 to $660.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays lowered their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $620.00 to $610.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Raymond James boosted their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $650.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $632.00 to $622.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $655.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $649.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In other Thermo Fisher Scientific news, SVP Michael A. Boxer sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $560.16, for a total value of $1,120,320.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 12,736 shares in the company, valued at $7,134,197.76. This trade represents a 13.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $554.29, for a total value of $5,542,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 121,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $67,175,513.68. This trade represents a 7.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 37,150 shares of company stock valued at $20,651,865. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Price Performance

Thermo Fisher Scientific stock opened at $513.08 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $196.25 billion, a PE ratio of 32.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.79. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a one year low of $464.17 and a one year high of $627.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $586.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $582.24.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The medical research company reported $5.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.25 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $10.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.63 billion. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a net margin of 14.48% and a return on equity of 17.49%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $5.69 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 21.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s payout ratio is presently 9.78%.

Thermo Fisher Scientific announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program 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 reacquire up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.