Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. $TMO Shares Sold by Conning Inc.

Key Points

• Conning Inc. reduced its Thermo Fisher Scientific stake by 14.4% in the third quarter, selling 1,711 shares and retaining 10,155 shares valued at approximately $6.86 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 89.23% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with the stock carrying a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $684.55; recent targets range as high as $810.
• Thermo Fisher reported quarterly earnings of $6.68 per share, beating estimates of $6.40, while revenue rose 9.1% year over year to $12.14 billion. Shares opened at $704.41, near their 52-week high of $710.84.

Conning Inc. lessened its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO - Free Report) by 14.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,155 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 1,711 shares during the quarter. Conning Inc.'s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $6,855,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 2nd quarter valued at about $15,501,867,000. Corient Private Wealth LP acquired a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the second quarter worth about $382,547,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the second quarter worth about $1,974,561,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the second quarter worth about $1,952,930,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,122,351,000. 89.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on TMO shares. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $650.00 to $730.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, October 12th. BMO Capital Markets lowered Thermo Fisher Scientific to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $580.00 to $730.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. TD Cowen increased their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $760.00 to $810.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $720.00 target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research report on Friday, September 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $684.55.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of TMO stock opened at $704.41 on Thursday. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 1 year low of $435.27 and a 1 year high of $710.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $260.45 billion, a PE ratio of 37.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.87. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $651.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $552.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a current ratio of 1.81.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The medical research company reported $6.68 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $6.40 by $0.28. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a return on equity of 17.33% and a net margin of 14.94%. The company had revenue of $12.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.95 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.79 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 25.23 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In other Thermo Fisher Scientific news, VP Lisa P. Britt sold 11,440 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $613.12, for a total transaction of $7,014,092.80. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 14,784 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,064,366.08. The trade was a 43.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $629.27, for a total transaction of $6,292,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 123,925 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $77,982,284.75. This represents a 7.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 73,368 shares of company stock worth $43,896,820. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Company Profile

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc is a global supplier of laboratory products, analytical instruments, reagents, consumables, software and services used in scientific research, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and industrial applications. The company serves customers ranging from academic institutions and government agencies to hospitals, clinical laboratories and pharmaceutical manufacturers.

Its offerings include instruments and systems for genetic analysis, mass spectrometry, chromatography, electron microscopy and materials science, as well as molecular biology reagents, cell culture products, laboratory plastics and research chemicals.

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