Advisors Asset Management Inc. Lowers Position in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. $TMO

Advisors Asset Management Inc. cut its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 9.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,581 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 1,871 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $8,527,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ABC Arbitrage SA acquired a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,310,000. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. lifted its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 4.3% during the third quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 25,888 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $12,557,000 after buying an additional 1,074 shares in the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 0.8% during the third quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,426 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,177,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Stratos Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 4.7% in the third quarter. Stratos Investment Management LLC now owns 9,648 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $4,680,000 after acquiring an additional 431 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Liberty Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Liberty Capital Management Inc. now owns 16,951 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $8,222,000 after acquiring an additional 359 shares in the last quarter. 89.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In other Thermo Fisher Scientific news, COO Michel Lagarde sold 32,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $583.39, for a total transaction of $18,668,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 65,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,200,377.20. The trade was a 32.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Frederick M. Lowery sold 6,913 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $597.68, for a total value of $4,131,761.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 14,367 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,586,868.56. This trade represents a 32.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 108,996 shares of company stock valued at $63,355,935. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Down 2.5%

TMO stock opened at $526.56 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 1.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $588.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $544.22. The stock has a market cap of $197.83 billion, a PE ratio of 29.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.93. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $385.46 and a fifty-two week high of $643.99.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The medical research company reported $6.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.45 by $0.12. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a net margin of 15.05% and a return on equity of 16.92%. The firm had revenue of $12.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.95 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $6.10 EPS. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 23.28 EPS for the current year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, November 6th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the medical research company to reacquire up to 2.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on TMO. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $685.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company set a $683.00 price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a report on Friday, January 9th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $633.68.

About Thermo Fisher Scientific

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE: TMO) is a global provider of scientific instrumentation, reagents and consumables, software, and services that support research, clinical, and industrial laboratories. The company supplies analytical instruments and laboratory equipment, life sciences reagents and kits, specialty diagnostics, and a broad range of consumables used by researchers, clinicians, and manufacturers. Its offerings also include laboratory information management and data-analysis software, as well as service solutions such as instrument maintenance, validation, and logistics that help customers run complex workflows efficiently.

Thermo Fisher operates through multiple business areas that broadly cover life sciences solutions, analytical instruments, specialty diagnostics, and laboratory products and biopharma services, including contract development and manufacturing for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.