Westover Capital Advisors LLC Reduces Holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Westover Capital Advisors LLC lessened its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 9,105 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 124 shares during the period. Thermo Fisher Scientific makes up about 1.6% of Westover Capital Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Westover Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $4,833,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Michael A. Boxer sold 14,566 shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $562.00, for a total transaction of $8,186,092.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 12,901 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,250,362. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $555.63, for a total transaction of $5,556,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 49,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,311,992.65. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael A. Boxer sold 14,566 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $562.00, for a total value of $8,186,092.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 12,901 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,250,362. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 62,277 shares of company stock worth $35,373,364 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:TMO traded down $3.89 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $571.10. The stock had a trading volume of 772,244 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,540,039. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The company has a market capitalization of $217.99 billion, a PE ratio of 36.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.80. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 1 year low of $415.60 and a 1 year high of $603.82. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $575.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $531.97.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The medical research company reported $5.11 EPS 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 analyst estimates of $10.14 billion. As a group, equities analysts predict that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 21.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on TMO. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $621.00 to $620.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $575.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a report on Monday, March 18th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $620.00 price objective on the stock. HSBC increased their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $660.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $590.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock 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.