Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC Cuts Stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 15.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 901 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 164 shares during the period. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $469,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 3rd quarter valued at $50,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 4th quarter worth $43,000. Finally, HWG Holdings LP bought a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the second quarter valued at about $50,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.23% of the company’s stock.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of TMO opened at $559.72 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $214.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.09, a PEG ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.76. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 52 week low of $493.30 and a 52 week high of $627.88. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $529.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $568.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The medical research company reported $5.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.25 by $0.03. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a net margin of 14.48% and a return on equity of 17.49%. The business had revenue of $10.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.63 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.69 EPS. The business’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 21.68 EPS for the current year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Announces Dividend

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

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on TMO shares. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $630.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $680.00 to $665.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on Thermo Fisher Scientific in a report on Monday, October 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $680.00 price objective for the company. Stephens assumed coverage on Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. They set an “overweight” rating and a $680.00 target price on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $648.95.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Thermo Fisher Scientific news, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $530.26, for a total transaction of $5,302,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 111,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,960,669.92. This represents a 8.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Michael A. Boxer sold 2,000 shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 12,736 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,134,197.76. This trade represents a 13.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 47,150 shares of company stock valued at $25,954,465. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.