Scott & Selber Inc. Trims Stock Position in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Scott & Selber Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 2.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,167 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 184 shares during the quarter. Scott & Selber Inc.’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $3,208,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Barrett & Company Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Missouri Trust & Investment Co purchased a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. 89.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on TMO shares. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $675.00 to $660.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com upgraded Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded 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 note on Friday, January 10th. UBS Group upped their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $700.00 to $715.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $660.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Thermo Fisher Scientific presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $656.86.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Down 1.1 %

TMO opened at $523.00 on Tuesday. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a one year low of $493.30 and a one year high of $627.88. The company has a market cap of $197.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.64, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.77. The business’s fifty day moving average is $549.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $564.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.66.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $6.10 EPS 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 anticipate that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 23.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Thermo Fisher Scientific’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s dividend payout ratio is 10.41%.

Thermo Fisher Scientific announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Friday, November 15th that allows the company to buyback $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the medical research company to buy up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In related news, CFO Stephen Williamson sold 9,825 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 27,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,984,264.64. The trade was a 26.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $585.59, for a total transaction of $175,677.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,363 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,582,009.17. This trade represents a 1.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.