Primecap Management Co. CA Sells 187,849 Shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Key Points

• Primecap Management Co. CA has reduced its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. by 7.5%, selling 187,849 shares and holding approximately 2.32 million shares valued at $1.15 billion.
• Analysts have adjusted their price targets for Thermo Fisher, with estimates ranging from $470 to $620, while maintaining a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."
• Thermo Fisher Scientific announced a quarterly dividend of $0.43 per share, which will be paid on October 15, contributing to an annual dividend yield of 0.4%.

Primecap Management Co. CA cut its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO - Free Report) by 7.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,317,302 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 187,849 shares during the quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA owned about 0.61% of Thermo Fisher Scientific worth $1,153,089,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 1st quarter worth $35,000. Navigoe LLC acquired a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 1st quarter worth $37,000. 89.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on TMO shares. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $665.00 to $620.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $570.00 to $565.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $535.00 price target (up previously from $525.00) on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Barclays boosted their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $450.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Argus lowered their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $620.00 to $470.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $593.00.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Up 0.0%

TMO stock opened at $466.61 on Wednesday. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $423.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $465.77. 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 Inc. has a 1-year low of $385.46 and a 1-year high of $627.88. The stock has a market cap of $176.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.74.

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

Thermo Fisher Scientific Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other Thermo Fisher Scientific news, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 400 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 22,367 shares in the company, 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 available through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is currently 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.

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