Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) Shares Sold by Moody National Bank Trust Division

Moody National Bank Trust Division decreased its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 3.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 6,155 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 220 shares during the quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $3,202,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of TMO. State Street Corp increased its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,318,961 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $10,100,655,000 after buying an additional 124,996 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 19.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,877,459 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $4,872,761,000 after purchasing an additional 1,294,453 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,659,943 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,719,477,000 after purchasing an additional 127,564 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,853,133 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,935,377,000 after purchasing an additional 262,062 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 2.6% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,636,558 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,630,896,000 after buying an additional 65,586 shares in the last quarter. 89.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Michael A. Boxer sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $560.16, for a total value of $1,120,320.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 12,736 shares in the company, valued at $7,134,197.76. This trade represents a 13.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $560.16, for a total transaction of $168,048.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,663 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,333,946.08. This represents a 1.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 47,150 shares of company stock valued at $25,954,465 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TMO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a report on Monday, December 23rd. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $605.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group upgraded Thermo Fisher Scientific to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $767.00 to $718.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $680.00 to $665.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic started coverage on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a report on Monday, October 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $680.00 target price on the stock. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $648.95.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Up 2.7 %

TMO stock traded up $14.80 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $557.11. The company had a trading volume of 1,205,617 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,864,877. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $493.30 and a fifty-two week high of $627.88. The company has a market capitalization of $213.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.63. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $529.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $568.06.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The medical research company reported $5.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.25 by $0.03. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a return on equity of 17.49% and a net margin of 14.48%. The firm had revenue of $10.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.63 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $5.69 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 21.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan 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 reacquire up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.78%.

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.