Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) Shares Acquired by Motco

Motco grew its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 21,060 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 285 shares during the period. Thermo Fisher Scientific makes up 1.1% of Motco’s holdings, making the stock its 27th largest position. Motco’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $10,956,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Barrett & Company Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Missouri Trust & Investment Co purchased a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. 89.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on TMO. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $605.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $667.00 price objective (up previously from $650.00) on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America reduced their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $675.00 to $660.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $660.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $656.86.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Down 1.9 %

TMO opened at $523.40 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $549.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $565.93. 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 has a market cap of $197.46 billion, a PE ratio of 31.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $6.10 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.94 by $0.16. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a return on equity of 17.51% and a net margin of 14.78%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 23.28 EPS for the current year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This is a boost from Thermo Fisher Scientific’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.33%. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s payout ratio is presently 10.41%.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Thermo Fisher Scientific news, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $585.59, for a total transaction of $175,677.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,363 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,582,009.17. The trade was a 1.80 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 20,125 shares of company stock worth $11,231,699. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.