Westpac Banking Corp Sells 628 Shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Key Points

• Westpac Banking Corp has decreased its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. by 18.8% during the first quarter, now owning 2,713 shares valued at approximately $1.35 million.
• Insiders, including the EVP and CEO, have sold a total of 18,400 shares of the company in the last 90 days, totaling around $8.34 million, indicating a notable decrease in their stock ownership.
• Despite recent sell-offs, analyst ratings remain largely positive, with 15 buy ratings and a consensus target price of $593.00 for Thermo Fisher, although several firms have recently adjusted their target prices downward.

Westpac Banking Corp decreased its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO - Free Report) by 18.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,713 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 628 shares during the quarter. Westpac Banking Corp's holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $1,350,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Iyo Bank Ltd. lifted its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 38.0% during the 1st quarter. Iyo Bank Ltd. now owns 15,049 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $7,488,000 after buying an additional 4,140 shares during the period. Rossmore Private Capital lifted its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Rossmore Private Capital now owns 4,652 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $2,315,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 179,384 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $89,261,000 after buying an additional 1,714 shares during the period. Enhancing Capital LLC acquired a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 1st quarter worth about $205,000. Finally, AGF Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 47.3% during the 1st quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 196,727 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $97,891,000 after buying an additional 63,201 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.23% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TMO has been the topic of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $610.00 target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $553.00 to $567.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. HSBC reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $510.00 price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Scotiabank raised Thermo Fisher Scientific from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and set a $590.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $570.00 to $565.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $593.00.

Insider Activity at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In other Thermo Fisher Scientific news, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $451.82, for a total transaction of $4,518,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 115,174 shares in the company, valued at $52,037,916.68. This represents a 7.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 400 shares of the 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 owned 22,367 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,735,712.66. This represents a 1.76% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 18,400 shares of company stock worth $8,345,792. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE TMO traded up $0.83 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $485.62. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,955,228 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,096,282. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 12-month low of $385.46 and a 12-month high of $627.88. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $433.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $461.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $183.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.09, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.93 and a quick ratio of 1.50.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $5.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $10.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.37 EPS. The company's revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 23.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors 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 yield of 0.4%. Thermo Fisher Scientific's dividend payout ratio is presently 9.95%.

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.