Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) Shares Sold by Avidity Partners Management LP

Avidity Partners Management LP cut its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO - Free Report) by 35.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 44,600 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 24,000 shares during the quarter. Thermo Fisher Scientific comprises approximately 2.3% of Avidity Partners Management LP's portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Avidity Partners Management LP's holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $23,202,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in TMO. Barrett & Company Inc. purchased a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Missouri Trust & Investment Co acquired a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. 89.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on TMO. UBS Group cut their price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $715.00 to $500.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $610.00 price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $665.00 to $620.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $651.00 to $637.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Thermo Fisher Scientific from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $630.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $607.43.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Trading Down 3.5 %

TMO traded down $14.91 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $407.36. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,874,201 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,784,512. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 52-week low of $406.50 and a 52-week high of $627.88. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $471.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $518.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The firm has a market cap of $153.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.64, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.82.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The medical research company reported $5.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.10 by $0.05. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 17.51%. The firm had revenue of $10.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.11 earnings per share. Thermo Fisher Scientific's revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 23.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.42%. This is an increase from Thermo Fisher Scientific's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Thermo Fisher Scientific's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.09%.

Insider Activity

In other Thermo Fisher Scientific news, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $429.93, for a total value of $128,979.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,167 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,960,188.31. This trade represents a 1.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Michael A. Boxer sold 3,775 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $532.52, for a total value of $2,010,263.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 10,816 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,759,736.32. The trade was a 25.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 14,075 shares of company stock valued at $7,305,942 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Company Profile

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.