Arthur M. Cohen & Associates LLC Cuts Stock Position in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Arthur M. Cohen & Associates LLC lowered its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 12.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,084 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 1,244 shares during the period. Thermo Fisher Scientific makes up 0.8% of Arthur M. Cohen & Associates LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Arthur M. Cohen & Associates LLC’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $4,726,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Seven Eight Capital LP grew its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 29.4% during the second quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP now owns 2,586 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,430,000 after purchasing an additional 588 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 19.4% during the 2nd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 3,142 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,738,000 after acquiring an additional 510 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 5.9% during the 2nd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,297 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,376,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 7.5% in the second quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 38,209 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $21,130,000 after purchasing an additional 2,667 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GM Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 2.0% in the second quarter. GM Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,949 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,078,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. 89.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Price Performance

TMO opened at $559.72 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $529.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $567.97. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 52-week low of $493.30 and a 52-week high of $627.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The company has a market cap of $214.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.09, a P/E/G ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.76.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The medical research company reported $5.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.25 by $0.03. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a return on equity of 17.49% and a net margin of 14.48%. The company had revenue of $10.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.63 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $5.69 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 21.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Friday, November 15th that permits the company to buyback $4.00 billion in outstanding 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 typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.28%. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 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 transaction of $1,120,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 12,736 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,134,197.76. This trade represents a 13.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $560.16, for a total transaction of $168,048.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,663 shares in the company, valued at $9,333,946.08. This represents a 1.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 47,150 shares of company stock valued at $25,954,465 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on TMO. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $630.00 to $620.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays reduced their price objective 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. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a report on Monday, October 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $680.00 price target for the company. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of 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 lowered their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $670.00 to $647.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $648.95.

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.