Guinness Atkinson Asset Management Inc Raises Stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Guinness Atkinson Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 3.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,692 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 434 shares during the period. Thermo Fisher Scientific makes up 3.1% of Guinness Atkinson Asset Management Inc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Guinness Atkinson Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $6,083,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. IFG Advisors LLC increased its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. IFG Advisors LLC now owns 532 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $329,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC boosted its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC now owns 4,398 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,720,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the period. Axiom Advisory LLC grew its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Axiom Advisory LLC now owns 1,216 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $720,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 19 shares during the period. Finally, Bangor Savings Bank raised its position 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $620.00 to $610.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $630.00 to $620.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $630.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Stephens started coverage on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. They set an “overweight” rating and a $680.00 price objective on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $648.95.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 300 shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 111,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $58,960,669.92. This represents a 8.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 47,150 shares of company stock valued at $25,954,465. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Performance

Shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific stock opened at $559.72 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $529.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $568.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $214.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.09, a P/E/G ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.26. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $493.30 and a fifty-two week high of $627.88.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The medical research company reported $5.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $10.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.63 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.69 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 21.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were given a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.28%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.78%.

Thermo Fisher Scientific declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Friday, November 15th that authorizes the company to buyback $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the medical research company to buy up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.