Keudell Morrison Wealth Management Sells 173 Shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Keudell Morrison Wealth Management decreased its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 15.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 954 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 173 shares during the period. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $496,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the third quarter valued at $27,000. Missouri Trust & Investment Co bought a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,000. 89.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Up 6.8 %

NYSE:TMO opened at $607.06 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $539.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $570.59. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a twelve month low of $493.30 and a twelve month high of $627.88. The company has a market cap of $232.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.76.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $5.94 by $0.16. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a return on equity of 17.49% and a net margin of 14.48%. Analysts anticipate that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 21.69 EPS for the current year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program 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 programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were given a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.78%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $558.12, for a total transaction of $5,581,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 33,608 shares in the company, valued at $18,757,296.96. The trade was a 22.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 29,000 shares of company stock valued at $15,859,540 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TMO has been the subject of a number of research reports. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $680.00 to $665.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $632.00 to $622.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research report on Monday, October 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $680.00 price target for the company. Bank of America cut their price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $675.00 to $660.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $656.00 to $686.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $648.95.

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.