Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Sells 22,086 Shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc cut its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO - Free Report) by 2.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,060,943 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 22,086 shares during the period. Thermo Fisher Scientific makes up approximately 1.0% of Ensign Peak Advisors Inc's holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc owned about 0.28% of Thermo Fisher Scientific worth $551,934,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the fourth quarter valued at $3,149,754,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 86.9% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 1,905.4% in the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 903,232 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $469,889,000 after purchasing an additional 858,193 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 68,617.0% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 762,759 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $396,810,000 after purchasing an additional 761,649 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $377,901,000. 89.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Performance

TMO stock traded down $7.85 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $402.93. 2,318,607 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,799,554. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 52 week low of $401.75 and a 52 week high of $627.88. The business has a 50-day moving average of $464.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $514.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $152.10 billion, a PE ratio of 24.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.82.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The medical research company reported $5.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.10 by $0.05. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 17.51%. The company had revenue of $10.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $5.11 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 23.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.43%. This is a positive change from Thermo Fisher Scientific's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Thermo Fisher Scientific's payout ratio is 10.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Thermo Fisher Scientific news, SVP Michael A. Boxer sold 3,775 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $532.52, for a total value of $2,010,263.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 10,816 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,759,736.32. This trade represents a 25.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $429.93, for a total value of $128,979.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 23,167 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,960,188.31. This represents a 1.28% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 14,075 shares of company stock valued at $7,305,942. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TMO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $585.00 to $500.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $580.00 to $570.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Argus cut their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $620.00 to $470.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $665.00 to $620.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $650.00 to $570.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Thermo Fisher Scientific presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $607.43.

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.