Northern Financial Advisors Inc Reduces Stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Northern Financial Advisors Inc lessened its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 17.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,123 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 245 shares during the quarter. Northern Financial Advisors Inc’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $584,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the third quarter worth $27,000. Barrett & Company Inc. bought a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Missouri Trust & Investment Co purchased a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. 89.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Trading Down 1.0 %

TMO opened at $532.63 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $203.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.22, a PEG ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.77. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a one year low of $493.30 and a one year high of $627.88. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $548.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $571.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.29.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $6.10 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.94 by $0.16. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a return on equity of 17.51% and a net margin of 14.78%. Analysts predict that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 23.28 EPS for the current year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Friday, November 15th that allows the company to buyback $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the medical research company to purchase up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on TMO shares. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $647.00 to $678.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $632.00 to $622.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $660.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $667.00 target price (up previously from $650.00) on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $658.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $585.59, for a total value of $175,677.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,582,009.17. This represents a 1.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Stephen Williamson sold 9,825 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $585.59, for a total value of $5,753,421.75. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 27,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,984,264.64. This represents a 26.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 20,125 shares of company stock valued at $11,231,699 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.