Cumberland Partners Ltd Lowers Stock Position in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Cumberland Partners Ltd decreased its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 0.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 34,695 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 73 shares during the quarter. Thermo Fisher Scientific accounts for about 1.3% of Cumberland Partners Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Cumberland Partners Ltd’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $18,049,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Barrett & Company Inc. bought a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Missouri Trust & Investment Co purchased a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Institutional investors own 89.23% of the company’s stock.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Price Performance

Shares of NYSE TMO opened at $531.41 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $548.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $568.36. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 12 month low of $493.30 and a 12 month high of $627.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $203.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.15, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.77.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $6.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Analysts expect that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 23.28 EPS for the current year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Friday, November 15th that permits the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the medical research company to purchase up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.43 dividend. 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 0.32%. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s payout ratio is 9.44%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Stephen Williamson sold 9,825 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $530.26, for a total value of $5,302,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 111,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $58,960,669.92. This trade represents a 8.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 20,125 shares of company stock worth $11,231,699 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on TMO. Citigroup raised their price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $647.00 to $678.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $660.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $605.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $630.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $658.00.

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.