Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) Shares Acquired by Covington Investment Advisors Inc.

Key Points

• Covington Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 2.7%, now owning approximately $16.03 million worth of shares, which makes it the fund's 13th largest position.
• Thermo Fisher reported a net income increase for the quarter, with earnings per share of $5.36, surpassing estimates of $5.22, and a revenue of $10.86 billion.
• Analysts have mixed price targets for the stock, with ratings ranging from "buy" to "neutral," and an average price target set at $593.00.

Covington Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO - Free Report) by 2.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 32,217 shares of the medical research company's stock after acquiring an additional 847 shares during the quarter. Thermo Fisher Scientific makes up about 2.5% of Covington Investment Advisors Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Covington Investment Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $16,031,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 1st quarter valued at about $35,000. Navigoe LLC bought a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the first quarter worth approximately $37,000. 89.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays increased their price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $450.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Scotiabank upgraded Thermo Fisher Scientific from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and set a $590.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $535.00 price objective (up previously from $525.00) on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $460.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res downgraded Thermo Fisher Scientific from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $593.00.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Price Performance

TMO traded down $1.90 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $482.89. 1,227,906 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,493,532. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.93 and a quick ratio of 1.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $182.35 billion, a PE ratio of 27.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.74. The business's 50-day moving average price is $431.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $462.11. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 1-year low of $385.46 and a 1-year high of $627.88.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $5.36 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.22 by $0.14. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a net margin of 15.24% and a return on equity of 16.82%. The business had revenue of $10.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.37 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 23.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Thermo Fisher Scientific's payout ratio is presently 9.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Thermo Fisher Scientific news, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 400 shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $479.98, for a total transaction of $191,992.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 22,367 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,735,712.66. The trade was a 1.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 8,000 shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $454.45, for a total transaction of $3,635,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 115,174 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,340,824.30. This trade represents a 6.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 18,400 shares of company stock valued at $8,345,792. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Thermo Fisher Scientific 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.