Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Sells 6,634 Shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. $TMO

Key Points

• Wedge Capital Management L L P NC reduced its Thermo Fisher stake by 35.2%, selling 6,634 shares and leaving 12,225 shares valued at about $7.08 million at quarter-end.
• Insiders also sold shares: EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 400 shares at $541.20 and CEO Marc N. Casper sold 5,000 shares at $512.40, with corporate insiders now owning roughly 0.33% of the stock.
• Analysts are broadly positive with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average target of $632.50; Thermo Fisher beat Q4 EPS and revenue estimates and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.47.

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC reduced its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO - Free Report) by 35.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,225 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 6,634 shares during the quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC's holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $7,084,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 126.9% during the third quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 59 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Beacon Financial Strategies CORP acquired a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Olistico Wealth LLC bought a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 825.0% in the second quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC now owns 74 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.23% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In related news, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $541.20, for a total transaction of $216,480.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 20,752 shares in the company, valued at $11,230,982.40. This trade represents a 1.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $512.40, for a total transaction of $2,562,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 123,925 shares in the company, valued at $63,499,170. This represents a 3.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

TMO has been the topic of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $656.00 to $670.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. DZ Bank initiated coverage on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research note on Friday. They set a "buy" rating and a $610.00 price target for the company. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $696.00 to $683.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $615.00 price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research note on Friday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $632.50.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Down 3.1%

NYSE:TMO opened at $473.83 on Friday. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 1 year low of $385.46 and a 1 year high of $643.99. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $530.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $547.79. The stock has a market cap of $176.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.71, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.89, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The medical research company reported $6.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.45 by $0.12. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a return on equity of 16.92% and a net margin of 15.05%.The company had revenue of $12.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.95 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $6.10 earnings per share. Thermo Fisher Scientific's revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a $0.47 dividend. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. This is a boost from Thermo Fisher Scientific's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. Thermo Fisher Scientific's dividend payout ratio is currently 10.60%.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Company Profile

Thermo Fisher Scientific NYSE: TMO is a global provider of scientific instrumentation, reagents and consumables, software, and services that support research, clinical, and industrial laboratories. The company supplies analytical instruments and laboratory equipment, life sciences reagents and kits, specialty diagnostics, and a broad range of consumables used by researchers, clinicians, and manufacturers. Its offerings also include laboratory information management and data-analysis software, as well as service solutions such as instrument maintenance, validation, and logistics that help customers run complex workflows efficiently.

Thermo Fisher operates through multiple business areas that broadly cover life sciences solutions, analytical instruments, specialty diagnostics, and laboratory products and biopharma services, including contract development and manufacturing for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.

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