FourThought Financial Partners LLC Increases Holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

FourThought Financial Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 9,540 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the quarter. FourThought Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $4,963,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of TMO. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Barrett & Company Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Missouri Trust & Investment Co acquired a new stake 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.

Insider Buying and Selling at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In other Thermo Fisher Scientific news, CFO Stephen Williamson sold 9,825 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $585.59, for a total transaction of $5,753,421.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 27,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,984,264.64. The trade was a 26.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 300 shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific 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 directly owns 16,363 shares in the company, valued at $9,582,009.17. The trade was a 1.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 20,125 shares of company stock worth $11,231,699 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Price Performance

NYSE:TMO opened at $535.55 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $204.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.40, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.77. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a one year low of $493.30 and a one year high of $627.88. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $548.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $566.86. 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 posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $6.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.94 by $0.16. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 17.51%. Analysts anticipate that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 23.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Friday, November 15th that allows the company to buyback $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the medical research company to reacquire up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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 issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This is an increase from Thermo Fisher Scientific’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.32%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.41%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on TMO shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $660.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $667.00 price target (up previously from $650.00) on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $647.00 to $678.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $675.00 to $660.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $656.86.

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.