Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) Shares Sold by Clearbridge Investments LLC

Clearbridge Investments LLC cut its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 11.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,851,189 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 242,394 shares during the period. Thermo Fisher Scientific comprises about 0.8% of Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 19th largest position. Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $963,044,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Howard Capital Management Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 0.5% during the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 54,575 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $33,759,000 after purchasing an additional 286 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 22.1% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,247,838 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $771,876,000 after acquiring an additional 225,568 shares in the last quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the third quarter worth about $353,000. Martingale Asset Management L P increased its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 654.5% during the 3rd quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 8,382 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $5,185,000 after purchasing an additional 7,271 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fred Alger Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the third quarter worth $1,274,000. 89.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TMO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $660.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $605.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $650.00 to $570.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $675.00 to $660.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Thermo Fisher Scientific currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $653.23.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Thermo Fisher Scientific news, SVP Michael A. Boxer sold 3,775 shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $532.52, for a total transaction of $2,010,263.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 10,816 shares in the company, valued at $5,759,736.32. The trade was a 25.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $516.67, for a total value of $5,166,700.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 115,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $59,506,950.58. This trade represents a 7.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 23,900 shares of company stock valued at $13,106,062. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Price Performance

Shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific stock opened at $499.75 on Friday. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 1-year low of $493.30 and a 1-year high of $627.88. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $541.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $552.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $188.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.23, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.79.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $6.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.94 by $0.16. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a return on equity of 17.51% and a net margin of 14.78%. On average, sell-side 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.43 dividend. This is an increase from Thermo Fisher Scientific’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.34%. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.41%.

About Thermo Fisher Scientific

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.