Goelzer Investment Management Inc. Acquires 42 Shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Goelzer Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 5.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 819 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the quarter. Goelzer Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $426,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 11.7% during the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 2,387 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,242,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the period. CX Institutional increased its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 26.1% in the fourth quarter. CX Institutional now owns 9,960 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $5,182,000 after purchasing an additional 2,062 shares during the period. Berbice Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the fourth quarter worth about $52,000. Lindsell Train Ltd bought a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 4th quarter valued at about $211,858,000. Finally, LexAurum Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 26.3% in the 4th quarter. LexAurum Advisors LLC now owns 764 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $398,000 after buying an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. 89.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE TMO opened at $575.21 on Friday. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 52-week low of $493.30 and a 52-week high of $627.88. 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 company’s 50 day moving average price is $533.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $569.32. The company has a market capitalization of $220.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.82 and a beta of 0.76.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The medical research company reported $5.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.25 by $0.03. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a net margin of 14.48% and a return on equity of 17.49%. The business had revenue of $10.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.63 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.69 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 21.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.27%. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.78%.

Thermo Fisher Scientific declared that its board has initiated a share buyback 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Stephens initiated coverage on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. They set an “overweight” rating and a $680.00 price objective for the company. Scotiabank assumed coverage on Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $605.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $680.00 to $665.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $632.00 to $622.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $767.00 to $718.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Thermo Fisher Scientific has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $648.95.

Insider Buying and Selling at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In related news, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $554.29, for a total transaction of $5,542,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 121,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $67,175,513.68. This represents a 7.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 44,850 shares of company stock valued at $24,666,097. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.