Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. Trims Holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. cut its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 31,225 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 754 shares during the period. Thermo Fisher Scientific accounts for about 1.0% of Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $16,257,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in TMO. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Barrett & Company Inc. bought a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Missouri Trust & Investment Co purchased a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Institutional investors own 89.23% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In other Thermo Fisher Scientific news, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,363 shares in the company, valued at $9,582,009.17. This represents a 1.80 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Stephen Williamson sold 9,825 shares of the business’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 $5,753,421.75. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 23,900 shares of company stock valued at $13,106,062 over the last 90 days. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $700.00 to $715.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $605.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $660.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $675.00 to $660.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $653.23.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE:TMO opened at $518.58 on Friday. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 52-week low of $493.30 and a 52-week 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 business has a fifty day moving average of $546.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $556.94. The stock has a market cap of $195.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.37, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.79.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last issued its 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%. On average, 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 firm also recently declared 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 is a boost from Thermo Fisher Scientific’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.33%. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.41%.

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.