Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) Shares Purchased by Motco

Motco raised its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 21,060 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 285 shares during the quarter. Thermo Fisher Scientific comprises about 1.1% of Motco’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Motco’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $10,956,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in TMO. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Barrett & Company Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Missouri Trust & Investment Co purchased a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.23% of the company’s stock.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE TMO opened at $523.40 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $549.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $565.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $197.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 52-week low of $493.30 and a 52-week 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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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, sell-side analysts forecast that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 23.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Friday, November 15th that authorizes the company to buyback $4.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the medical research company to buy up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.43 dividend. This is a positive change 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 0.33%. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s payout ratio is 10.41%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Thermo Fisher Scientific news, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 300 shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 111,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $58,960,669.92. This trade represents a 8.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 20,125 shares of company stock worth $11,231,699. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

TMO has been the topic of several research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $630.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $660.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup increased their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Scotiabank increased their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $605.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $656.86.

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.