Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 5.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 94,571 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,303 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $49,199,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the third quarter worth $26,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Barrett & Company Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Missouri Trust & Investment Co acquired a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. 89.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $660.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com upgraded Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Royal Bank of Canada set a $693.00 target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $647.00 to $678.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $700.00 to $715.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $653.23.

Insider Transactions at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In related news, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $516.67, for a total transaction of $5,166,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 115,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $59,506,950.58. This represents a 7.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 300 shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $585.59, for a total transaction of $175,677.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,363 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,582,009.17. This trade represents a 1.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 23,900 shares of company stock worth $13,106,062 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Price Performance

Thermo Fisher Scientific stock opened at $514.40 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $549.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $560.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $194.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.79. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 12-month low of $493.30 and a 12-month high of $627.88.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $6.10 earnings per share 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%. Equities analysts predict that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 23.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.43 dividend. 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 10.41%.

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

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.