Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) Shares Sold by Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC

Key Points

• Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC reduced its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 30.1% in the first quarter, now holding approximately $314 million worth of shares, which constitutes 1.6% of their portfolio.
• Analysts have mixed views on Thermo Fisher Scientific, with price targets ranging from $450 to $651, and an overall rating of "Moderate Buy" reflecting optimism about future earnings growth.
• CEO Marc N. Casper recently sold 8,000 shares for about $3.64 million, indicating a 6.49% decrease in his ownership of the company, as insider sales totaled 18,400 shares in the last three months.

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC cut its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO - Free Report) by 30.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 631,342 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 271,890 shares during the quarter. Thermo Fisher Scientific makes up about 1.6% of Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC owned approximately 0.17% of Thermo Fisher Scientific worth $314,155,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in TMO. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 60,610.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,419,331 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,203,859,000 after purchasing an additional 2,415,346 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 86.9% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,083,900 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,604,338,000 after purchasing an additional 1,433,444 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $532,360,000. Farallon Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 73.8% in the 4th quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,233,256 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $641,577,000 after purchasing an additional 523,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sarasin & Partners LLP purchased a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $242,991,000. 89.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Trading Up 1.0%

TMO traded up $4.92 on Friday, hitting $489.96. The company had a trading volume of 2,462,453 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,069,315. The firm has a market cap of $185.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.34, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.74. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 1 year low of $385.46 and a 1 year high of $627.88. The company's fifty day moving average price is $434.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $460.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.93, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.22 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $10.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.68 billion. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a net margin of 15.24% and a return on equity of 16.82%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.37 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 23.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on TMO. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, August 10th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of 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. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $665.00 to $620.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Argus cut their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $620.00 to $470.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Scotiabank upgraded shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and set a $590.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $593.00.

Insider Transactions at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In related news, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 400 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $479.98, for a total value of $191,992.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 22,367 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,735,712.66. This represents a 1.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $451.82, for a total value of $4,518,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 115,174 shares of the company's stock, valued at $52,037,916.68. This trade represents a 7.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 18,400 shares of company stock valued at $8,345,792. 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.