Aviva PLC Reduces Position in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Aviva PLC decreased its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO - Free Report) by 18.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 242,262 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 54,873 shares during the quarter. Aviva PLC owned about 0.06% of Thermo Fisher Scientific worth $126,032,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in TMO. Howard Capital Management Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 0.5% in the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 54,575 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $33,759,000 after buying an additional 286 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 22.1% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,247,838 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $771,876,000 after purchasing an additional 225,568 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 19.1% in the third quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 5,677 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $3,512,000 after purchasing an additional 912 shares during the last quarter. Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc increased its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc now owns 802 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $496,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the period. Finally, Temasek Holdings Private Ltd lifted its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd now owns 1,071,180 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $662,600,000 after acquiring an additional 2,813 shares during the period. 89.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Thermo Fisher Scientific Price Performance

TMO traded down $27.95 on Thursday, reaching $425.60. 1,896,501 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,682,303. The stock has a market cap of $160.56 billion, a PE ratio of 25.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.29. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a twelve month low of $409.85 and a twelve month high of $627.88. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $516.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $541.75.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $6.10 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.94 by $0.16. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a return on equity of 17.51% and a net margin of 14.78%. Sell-side analysts expect that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 23.28 EPS for the current year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.40%. This is an increase from Thermo Fisher Scientific's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Thermo Fisher Scientific's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.41%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on TMO shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Citigroup reduced their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $650.00 to $570.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Raymond James restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $667.00 price objective (up previously from $650.00) on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $660.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $605.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $647.09.

Insider Activity at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In other Thermo Fisher Scientific news, CFO Stephen Williamson sold 9,825 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $585.59, for a total value of $5,753,421.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 27,296 shares in the company, valued at $15,984,264.64. The trade was a 26.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $516.67, for a total value of $5,166,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 115,174 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $59,506,950.58. This trade represents a 7.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 23,900 shares of company stock worth $13,106,062 in the last three months. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.