Community Trust & Investment Co. Decreases Stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. $TMO

Community Trust & Investment Co. cut its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 7.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 42,743 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 3,540 shares during the period. Thermo Fisher Scientific accounts for about 1.3% of Community Trust & Investment Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Community Trust & Investment Co.’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $24,767,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in TMO. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 28.9% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,409 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,293,000 after buying an additional 988 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 491 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $255,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,274,000. Weitz Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 19.3% during the second quarter. Weitz Investment Management Inc. now owns 150,450 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $61,001,000 after purchasing an additional 24,300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Maripau Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the second quarter worth $222,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

TMO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research report on Friday, January 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $685.00 price objective on the stock. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $750.00 target price for the company in a research report on Sunday, December 7th. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $650.00 price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Thermo Fisher Scientific presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $633.68.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $541.20, for a total value of $216,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 20,752 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,230,982.40. This represents a 1.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $512.40, for a total value of $2,562,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 123,925 shares in the company, valued at approximately $63,499,170. The trade was a 3.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of TMO stock opened at $478.29 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $177.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.96, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.89, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $540.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $548.27. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a twelve month low of $385.46 and a twelve month high of $643.99.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The medical research company reported $6.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.45 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $12.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.95 billion. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a net margin of 15.05% and a return on equity of 16.92%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $6.10 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 23.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a $0.47 dividend. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This is an increase from Thermo Fisher Scientific’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.60%.

About Thermo Fisher Scientific

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE: TMO) is a global provider of scientific instrumentation, reagents and consumables, software, and services that support research, clinical, and industrial laboratories. The company supplies analytical instruments and laboratory equipment, life sciences reagents and kits, specialty diagnostics, and a broad range of consumables used by researchers, clinicians, and manufacturers. Its offerings also include laboratory information management and data-analysis software, as well as service solutions such as instrument maintenance, validation, and logistics that help customers run complex workflows efficiently.

Thermo Fisher operates through multiple business areas that broadly cover life sciences solutions, analytical instruments, specialty diagnostics, and laboratory products and biopharma services, including contract development and manufacturing for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.