Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) Shares Sold by Lazard Asset Management LLC

Lazard Asset Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 16.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,492,115 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 298,040 shares during the quarter. Thermo Fisher Scientific comprises about 1.1% of Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest position. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $776,242,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Czech National Bank increased its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 82,934 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $43,145,000 after purchasing an additional 5,118 shares during the last quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 17.9% during the fourth quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,022 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $532,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC acquired a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 4th quarter valued at $811,000. Capital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 15.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,335 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $695,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Compton Wealth Advisory Group LLC increased its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Compton Wealth Advisory Group LLC now owns 2,138 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,112,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.23% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Michael A. Boxer sold 3,775 shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $532.52, for a total transaction of $2,010,263.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 10,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,759,736.32. This trade represents a 25.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 300 shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $429.93, for a total transaction of $128,979.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 23,167 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,960,188.31. The trade was a 1.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 14,075 shares of company stock worth $7,305,942. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Trading Down 1.9%

NYSE:TMO opened at $402.93 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $152.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.38, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.82. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 1-year low of $401.75 and a 1-year high of $627.88. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $464.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $514.56. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The medical research company reported $5.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.10 by $0.05. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 17.51%. The firm had revenue of $10.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $5.11 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 23.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Thermo Fisher Scientific’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

TMO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $665.00 to $620.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. 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 report on Tuesday, March 4th. Argus lowered their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $620.00 to $470.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Barclays reduced their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $620.00 to $475.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $607.43.

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.