National Bank of Canada FI Sells 278,613 Shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

National Bank of Canada FI cut its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 43.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 368,079 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 278,613 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $191,489,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Barrett & Company Inc. bought a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Missouri Trust & Investment Co bought a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Institutional investors own 89.23% of the company’s stock.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Price Performance

TMO stock opened at $498.05 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $540.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $551.02. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 12-month low of $484.27 and a 12-month high of $627.88. 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 firm has a market cap of $187.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.13, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.79.

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 (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%. On average, analysts expect that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 23.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.35%. This is a positive change from Thermo Fisher Scientific’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.41%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Stephen Williamson sold 9,825 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 value of $5,753,421.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 27,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,984,264.64. This trade represents a 26.47 % decrease in their position. The transaction 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 the company’s stock in a transaction 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of 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. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $630.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Citigroup reduced their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $650.00 to $570.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $675.00 to $660.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $653.23.

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.