Confluence Wealth Services Inc. Has $1.52 Million Stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Confluence Wealth Services Inc. grew its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,636 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the period. Confluence Wealth Services Inc.’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $1,515,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Missouri Trust & Investment Co acquired a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the fourth quarter valued at about $43,000. 89.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Bernstein Bank upped their price target on shares of 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. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $767.00 to $718.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $605.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday. Bank of America dropped their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $675.00 to $660.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $630.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $658.00.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Performance

NYSE:TMO opened at $580.63 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $222.09 billion, a PE ratio of 35.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.06 and a beta of 0.77. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a twelve month low of $493.30 and a twelve month high of $627.88. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $544.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $571.88.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $6.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.94 by $0.16. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 17.51%. On average, analysts anticipate that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 23.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were given 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 yield of 0.27%. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.44%.

Thermo Fisher Scientific announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Friday, November 15th that authorizes the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the medical research company to repurchase up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In other Thermo Fisher Scientific news, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 9,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $552.86, for a total value of $4,975,740.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,608 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,076,178.88. This represents a 38.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.