Essex Financial Services Inc. Sells 194 Shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Essex Financial Services Inc. cut its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 9,875 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 194 shares during the period. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $5,137,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. IFG Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 3.3% in the third quarter. IFG Advisors LLC now owns 532 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $329,000 after buying an additional 17 shares during the period. Stonegate Investment Group LLC raised its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 6,788 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,531,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. Angeles Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 0.5% during the third quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,921 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,425,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Bangor Savings Bank lifted its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 334 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $174,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC boosted its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC now owns 7,463 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,882,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.23% of the company’s stock.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Down 3.2 %

Shares of NYSE TMO opened at $553.02 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $547.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $572.24. The firm has a market cap of $211.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.77. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 52-week low of $493.30 and a 52-week high of $627.88.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last issued its 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 net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 17.51%. Equities analysts predict that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 23.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program 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 buy up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TMO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $767.00 to $718.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $632.00 to $622.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $660.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Bernstein Bank upped their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $565.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $700.00 to $715.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $658.00.

Insider Activity at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In other news, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $530.26, for a total value of $5,302,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 111,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,960,669.92. This represents a 8.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Stephen Williamson sold 9,825 shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $585.59, for a total transaction of $5,753,421.75. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 27,296 shares in the company, valued at $15,984,264.64. This represents a 26.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 20,125 shares of company stock worth $11,231,699. 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.