Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) Shares Sold by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 19.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,916,575 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 936,558 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $2,037,520,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Stonegate Investment Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 6,788 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,531,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Semus Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Semus Wealth Partners LLC now owns 471 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $245,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Bangor Savings Bank boosted its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 334 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $174,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the period. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC boosted its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC now owns 7,463 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,882,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the period. Finally, KRS Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. KRS Capital Management LLC now owns 1,317 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $685,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.23% of the company’s stock.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Trading Down 2.3 %

NYSE TMO opened at $499.75 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $188.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.79. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a one year low of $493.30 and a one year high of $627.88. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $541.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $551.84. 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 quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $6.10 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. Research analysts expect that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 23.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.34%. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s payout ratio is currently 10.41%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on TMO. Wells Fargo & Company upped 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. Bank of America reduced 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 report on Friday, December 13th. Citigroup cut their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $650.00 to $570.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Royal Bank of Canada set a $693.00 price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $647.00 to $678.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four 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 company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $653.23.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Thermo Fisher Scientific news, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $516.67, for a total value of $5,166,700.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 115,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $59,506,950.58. This trade represents a 7.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Stephen Williamson sold 9,825 shares of the company’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 owns 27,296 shares in the company, valued at $15,984,264.64. This represents a 26.47 % 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 ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.