Avity Investment Management Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Avity Investment Management Inc. lowered its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO - Free Report) by 16.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 63,059 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 12,862 shares during the period. Thermo Fisher Scientific accounts for approximately 2.6% of Avity Investment Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Avity Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $32,805,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp grew its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,318,961 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $10,100,655,000 after acquiring an additional 124,996 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 19.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,877,459 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $4,872,761,000 after purchasing an additional 1,294,453 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 1.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,659,943 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $4,719,477,000 after buying an additional 127,564 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 5.7% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,853,133 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $2,935,377,000 after buying an additional 262,062 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,636,558 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,630,896,000 after acquiring an additional 65,586 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.23% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In other news, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $560.16, for a total value of $168,048.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,663 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,333,946.08. The trade was a 1.77 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Michael A. Boxer sold 2,000 shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $560.16, for a total value of $1,120,320.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 12,736 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,134,197.76. This trade represents a 13.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 47,150 shares of company stock valued at $25,954,465. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Down 0.6 %

TMO traded down $3.29 on Wednesday, hitting $553.70. 2,255,828 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,065,181. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $529.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $568.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a twelve month low of $493.30 and a twelve month high of $627.88. The company has a market cap of $211.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.76.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The medical research company reported $5.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.25 by $0.03. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a net margin of 14.48% and a return on equity of 17.49%. The firm had revenue of $10.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.63 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.69 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 21.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Friday, November 15th that allows the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the medical research company to reacquire up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.28%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Thermo Fisher Scientific's dividend payout ratio is presently 9.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on TMO shares. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $675.00 to $660.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $632.00 to $622.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $670.00 to $647.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $650.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Thermo Fisher Scientific from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $630.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Four research 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 MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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.