Forsta AP Fonden Cuts Stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Forsta AP Fonden trimmed its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 92,370 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 1,700 shares during the period. Forsta AP Fonden’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $48,054,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 605,113 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $314,798,000 after purchasing an additional 30,758 shares during the period. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. increased its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 19,431 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $10,109,000 after buying an additional 693 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 4th quarter valued at $442,000. BSW Wealth Partners increased its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. BSW Wealth Partners now owns 1,287 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $669,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the period. Finally, Stonegate Investment Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 6,788 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,531,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.23% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $558.12, for a total value of $5,581,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 33,608 shares in the company, valued at $18,757,296.96. This represents a 22.93 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders sold 34,850 shares of company stock valued at $19,123,197 in the last quarter. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $670.00 to $647.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. 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 report on Thursday, October 24th. Stephens began coverage on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. They set an “overweight” rating and a $680.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on 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. Finally, Barclays decreased 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 report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $648.95.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE:TMO opened at $584.38 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $536.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $570.35. The company has a market cap of $223.52 billion, a PE ratio of 36.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.82 and a beta of 0.76. 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 12 month low of $493.30 and a 12 month high of $627.88.

Thermo Fisher Scientific announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Friday, November 15th that permits the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the medical research company to purchase up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were given a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.27%. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s payout ratio is 9.78%.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Profile

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.