Aviance Capital Partners LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Aviance Capital Partners LLC trimmed its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 0.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,792 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 18 shares during the quarter. Thermo Fisher Scientific accounts for approximately 1.2% of Aviance Capital Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Aviance Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $5,728,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of TMO. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 49.1% in the third quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 82 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the period. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC boosted its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 107.0% in the 4th quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 89 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the period. Operose Advisors LLC grew its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 250.0% in the 3rd quarter. Operose Advisors LLC now owns 105 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 40.5% in the third quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 111 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.23% of the company’s stock.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Up 0.2 %

Thermo Fisher Scientific stock traded up $1.16 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $573.54. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,140,681 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,544,948. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 52-week low of $415.60 and a 52-week high of $603.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $218.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.79, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.80. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $575.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $534.36.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The medical research company reported $5.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.70 by $0.41. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a net margin of 14.20% and a return on equity of 18.45%. The company had revenue of $10.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.14 billion. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 21.64 EPS for the current year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.27%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This is an increase from Thermo Fisher Scientific’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s payout ratio is presently 10.01%.

Insider Transactions at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In related news, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $555.63, for a total value of $5,556,300.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 49,155 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,311,992.65. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Thermo Fisher Scientific news, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $555.63, for a total value of $5,556,300.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 49,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,311,992.65. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Debora L. Spar sold 164 shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $546.97, for a total value of $89,703.08. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,207 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $660,192.79. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 62,277 shares of company stock worth $35,373,364 over the last three months. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on TMO shares. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $621.00 to $620.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a report on Monday, March 18th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $620.00 target price on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $600.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $515.00 to $605.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $590.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Thermo Fisher Scientific has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $607.35.

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.