NewEdge Wealth LLC Buys 797 Shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

NewEdge Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 6.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,964 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 797 shares during the period. NewEdge Wealth LLC’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $7,264,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Barrett & Company Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Missouri Trust & Investment Co purchased a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Institutional investors own 89.23% of the company’s stock.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Down 1.9 %

NYSE:TMO opened at $523.40 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $197.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.66, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.77. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 1-year low of $493.30 and a 1-year high of $627.88. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $549.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $565.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.29.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 17.51%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 23.28 EPS for the current year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.33%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Thermo Fisher Scientific’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.41%.

Thermo Fisher Scientific declared that its board has initiated a stock 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 purchase up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $675.00 to $660.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $647.00 to $678.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $700.00 to $715.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada set a $693.00 price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $656.86.

Insider Activity at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In other Thermo Fisher Scientific news, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 111,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $58,960,669.92. This trade represents a 8.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Stephen Williamson sold 9,825 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $585.59, for a total transaction of $5,753,421.75. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 27,296 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,984,264.64. The trade was a 26.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 20,125 shares of company stock worth $11,231,699. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.