Lummis Asset Management LP Trims Holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Lummis Asset Management LP cut its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 25.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,902 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 989 shares during the period. Thermo Fisher Scientific accounts for approximately 1.9% of Lummis Asset Management LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Lummis Asset Management LP’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $1,510,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the third quarter worth $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. HWG Holdings LP bought a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 2nd quarter worth about $50,000. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 3rd quarter valued at about $50,000. 89.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In related news, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $560.16, for a total transaction of $168,048.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,663 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,333,946.08. This trade represents a 1.77 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Michael A. Boxer sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $560.16, for a total value of $1,120,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 12,736 shares in the company, valued at $7,134,197.76. This trade represents a 13.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 47,150 shares of company stock worth $25,954,465 over the last ninety days. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on TMO. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of 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. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $675.00 to $660.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Bernstein Bank increased their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $565.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Scotiabank assumed coverage on Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $605.00 price target for the company. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $620.00 to $610.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Thermo Fisher Scientific currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $648.95.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:TMO opened at $559.72 on Friday. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 1 year low of $493.30 and a 1 year high of $627.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $529.80 and its 200 day moving average is $567.97. The company has a market cap of $214.09 billion, a PE ratio of 35.09, a P/E/G ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.76.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The medical research company reported $5.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.25 by $0.03. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a return on equity of 17.49% and a net margin of 14.48%. The company had revenue of $10.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.63 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.69 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 21.68 EPS for the current year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.28%. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.78%.

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.