Destination Wealth Management Raises Stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Destination Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 35,364 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 302 shares during the quarter. Destination Wealth Management’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $21,875,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Lafayette Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 2.1% during the second quarter. Lafayette Investments Inc. now owns 830 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $459,000 after buying an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. IFG Advisors LLC increased its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. IFG Advisors LLC now owns 532 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $329,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 0.9% during the second quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,123 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,175,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Worth Financial Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. Worth Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 544 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $301,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Founders Financial Securities LLC boosted its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC now owns 2,058 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,138,000 after buying an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Stephens began coverage on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $680.00 price target on the stock. Barclays lowered their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $620.00 to $610.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on 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. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $630.00 to $620.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research note on Monday, October 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $680.00 price target on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $649.33.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Performance

Shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific stock traded down $4.11 on Thursday, reaching $530.25. 63,455 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,529,497. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 1-year low of $493.30 and a 1-year high of $627.88. The firm has a market cap of $202.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.50, a P/E/G ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.63. The company’s 50-day moving average is $553.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $574.46.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The medical research company reported $5.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.69 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 21.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.29%. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.78%.

Thermo Fisher Scientific announced that its board has initiated a share buyback 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 buy up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In related news, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $530.26, for a total transaction of $5,302,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 300 shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $560.16, for a total value of $168,048.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,663 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. Insiders have sold a total of 47,150 shares of company stock worth $25,954,465 in the last three months. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.