Congress Asset Management Co. Cuts Position in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Congress Asset Management Co. lowered its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 23.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 135,855 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 41,837 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co.’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $70,676,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in TMO. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Barrett & Company Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Missouri Trust & Investment Co acquired a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. 89.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

TMO has been the topic of a number of research reports. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com upgraded Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Bank of America reduced their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $675.00 to $660.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 13th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $767.00 to $718.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped 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 research note on Thursday, October 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $658.00.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Trading Down 0.0 %

NYSE TMO opened at $532.58 on Friday. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a one year low of $493.30 and a one year high of $627.88. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $548.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $570.52. The firm has a market cap of $203.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.22, a PEG ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.66.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $6.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.94 by $0.16. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a return on equity of 17.51% and a net margin of 14.78%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 23.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Friday, November 15th that authorizes the company to buyback $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the medical research company to buy up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Thermo Fisher Scientific news, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $530.26, for a total value of $5,302,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 111,192 shares in the company, valued at $58,960,669.92. This trade represents a 8.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Stephen Williamson sold 9,825 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $15,984,264.64. The trade was a 26.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 20,125 shares of company stock worth $11,231,699. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.