Marino Stram & Associates LLC Decreases Stock Position in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Marino Stram & Associates LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 9.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,739 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 179 shares during the period. Marino Stram & Associates LLC’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $905,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Missouri Trust & Investment Co purchased a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, HWG Holdings LP purchased a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.23% of the company’s stock.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Performance

Shares of TMO opened at $574.72 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $219.83 billion, a PE ratio of 36.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 0.76. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a one year low of $493.30 and a one year high of $627.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $530.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $568.96.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The medical research company reported $5.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.25 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $10.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.63 billion. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a net margin of 14.48% and a return on equity of 17.49%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.69 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 21.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were given a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.27%. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s dividend payout ratio is 9.78%.

Thermo Fisher Scientific announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Friday, November 15th that allows the company to buyback $4.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the medical research company to purchase up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on TMO shares. Scotiabank started coverage on Thermo Fisher Scientific in a report on Monday, December 23rd. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $605.00 price target for the company. Bank of America lowered their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $675.00 to $660.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $630.00 to $620.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $670.00 to $660.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Stephens assumed coverage on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. They set an “overweight” rating and a $680.00 price target on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Thermo Fisher Scientific has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $648.95.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Thermo Fisher Scientific news, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $560.16, for a total value of $168,048.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,663 shares in the company, valued at $9,333,946.08. The trade was a 1.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Michael A. Boxer sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $560.16, for a total transaction of $1,120,320.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 12,736 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,134,197.76. This represents a 13.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 47,150 shares of company stock worth $25,954,465 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.