Captrust Financial Advisors Decreases Holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Captrust Financial Advisors lessened its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 67,446 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 270 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors’ holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $41,720,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in TMO. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 318.2% during the second quarter. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC now owns 46 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. New Millennium Group LLC purchased a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Stephens Consulting LLC raised its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 116.0% during the 2nd quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 54 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank & Trust Co acquired a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.23% of the company’s stock.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Price Performance

Thermo Fisher Scientific stock opened at $529.63 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $566.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $577.96. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $202.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.21, a PEG ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.79. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 52-week low of $487.06 and a 52-week high of $627.88.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The medical research company reported $5.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.25 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $10.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.63 billion. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a net margin of 14.48% and a return on equity of 17.49%. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.69 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 21.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Friday, November 15th that permits the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the medical research company to buy up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 dividend yield of 0.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.78%.

Insider Activity

In other Thermo Fisher Scientific news, SVP Michael A. Boxer sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The shares were 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 owns 12,736 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,134,197.76. This represents a 13.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $560.16, for a total transaction of $168,048.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,663 shares in the company, valued at $9,333,946.08. This trade represents a 1.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 37,150 shares of company stock valued at $20,651,865. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on TMO shares. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $680.00 to $665.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $656.00 to $686.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $630.00 to $620.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $650.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $670.00 to $660.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $649.33.

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.