Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) Shares Sold by HBK Sorce Advisory LLC

HBK Sorce Advisory LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 6.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 10,200 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 743 shares during the period. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $5,306,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bowen Hanes & Co. Inc. grew its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Bowen Hanes & Co. Inc. now owns 128,066 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $66,624,000 after acquiring an additional 10,250 shares in the last quarter. Tredje AP fonden grew its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 19.7% in the 4th quarter. Tredje AP fonden now owns 145,557 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $75,723,000 after acquiring an additional 23,968 shares in the last quarter. Vestcor Inc grew its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 11,754 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $6,115,000 after acquiring an additional 723 shares in the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 37,414 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $19,464,000 after acquiring an additional 325 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Great Lakes Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 203,668 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $105,954,000 after acquiring an additional 4,404 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.23% of the company’s stock.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Performance

Shares of TMO stock opened at $512.94 on Thursday. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 1-year low of $493.30 and a 1-year high of $627.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The company has a market capitalization of $193.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.79. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $549.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $560.46.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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, sell-side analysts predict that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 23.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Friday, November 15th that permits the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the medical research company to buy up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.34%. This is an increase from Thermo Fisher Scientific’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s payout ratio is 10.41%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $516.67, for a total transaction of $5,166,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 115,174 shares in the company, valued at $59,506,950.58. This represents a 7.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, 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 value of $175,677.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,363 shares of the company’s stock, 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 23,900 shares of company stock valued at $13,106,062 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TMO has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group lifted their target price 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. Scotiabank raised their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $605.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com raised Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $630.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $660.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.