Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. Reduces Holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. reduced its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 19.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,907 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 924 shares during the period. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $2,033,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the third quarter worth $26,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Missouri Trust & Investment Co bought a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. 89.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Price Performance

Shares of TMO stock opened at $593.38 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $541.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $571.18. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 12 month low of $493.30 and a 12 month high of $627.88. 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 company has a market capitalization of $226.97 billion, a PE ratio of 35.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.06 and a beta of 0.77.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $6.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.94 by $0.16. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a return on equity of 17.51% and a net margin of 14.78%. Analysts predict that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 23.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.26%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.44%.

Thermo Fisher Scientific declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Friday, November 15th that allows the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the medical research company to buy up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

TMO has been the topic of several recent research reports. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $656.00 to $686.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $647.00 to $678.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. 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. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $767.00 to $718.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $658.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $552.86, for a total transaction of $4,975,740.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 14,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,076,178.88. This represents a 38.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In the last quarter, insiders sold 29,000 shares of company stock valued at $15,859,540. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.