SRN Advisors LLC Buys Shares of 455 Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

SRN Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 455 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $237,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Barrett & Company Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Missouri Trust & Investment Co acquired a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. 89.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In other news, CFO Stephen Williamson sold 9,825 shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 27,296 shares in the company, valued at $15,984,264.64. This trade represents a 26.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $530.26, for a total transaction of $5,302,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 111,192 shares in the company, valued at $58,960,669.92. The trade was a 8.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 20,125 shares of company stock valued at $11,231,699. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Performance

Shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific stock opened at $533.00 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $201.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.77. 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 business’s fifty day simple moving average is $549.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $566.23. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 12 month low of $493.30 and a 12 month high of $627.88.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $6.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.94 by $0.16. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 17.51%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 23.28 EPS for the current year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Friday, November 15th that authorizes the company to buyback $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the medical research company to reacquire up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.43 dividend. 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 yield of 0.32%. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.41%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on TMO. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $700.00 to $715.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $647.00 to $678.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America decreased 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. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $667.00 target price (up from $650.00) on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $605.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $656.86.

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.