Chesapeake Wealth Management Decreases Stock Position in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Chesapeake Wealth Management trimmed its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,090 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 96 shares during the quarter. Chesapeake Wealth Management’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $2,530,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 318.2% during the second quarter. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC now owns 46 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. New Millennium Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Stephens Consulting LLC raised its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 116.0% during the 2nd quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 54 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank & Trust Co purchased a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the second quarter worth about $33,000. 89.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Down 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE TMO opened at $501.50 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $191.82 billion, a PE ratio of 31.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 12-month low of $465.90 and a 12-month high of $627.88. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $584.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $581.90.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The medical research company reported $5.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.25 by $0.03. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a return on equity of 17.49% and a net margin of 14.48%. The company had revenue of $10.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.63 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.69 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 21.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.31%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.78%.

Thermo Fisher Scientific announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Friday, November 15th that permits the company to buyback $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the medical research company to reacquire up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $625.00 to $620.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research note on Monday, October 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $680.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group upgraded shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Stephens initiated coverage on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. They set an “overweight” rating and a $680.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Thermo Fisher Scientific presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $649.33.

Insider Activity

In other Thermo Fisher Scientific news, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $560.16, for a total value of $168,048.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,663 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,333,946.08. This trade represents a 1.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael A. Boxer sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $560.16, for a total transaction of $1,120,320.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 12,736 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,134,197.76. The trade was a 13.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 37,150 shares of company stock worth $20,651,865. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.