Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) Shares Acquired by Davidson Trust Co.

Davidson Trust Co. boosted its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 10.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,122 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 109 shares during the period. Davidson Trust Co.’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $596,000 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 TMO. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 0.6% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 32,760,738 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $16,582,503,000 after buying an additional 180,618 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 0.4% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 12,418,429 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $6,285,838,000 after acquiring an additional 50,736 shares in the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 104,536.8% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,355,245 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $4,601,150,000 after acquiring an additional 8,347,260 shares in the last quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 61,754.7% in the first quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,842,175 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $10,136,000 after acquiring an additional 5,832,730 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,105,677,000. Institutional investors own 89.23% of the company’s stock.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:TMO traded up $2.13 during trading on Friday, reaching $543.65. The stock had a trading volume of 420,794 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,532,100. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 52 week low of $415.60 and a 52 week high of $603.82. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $571.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $527.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $207.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The medical research company reported $5.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.64 by $0.03. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a net margin of 13.99% and a return on equity of 18.78%. The business had revenue of $10.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.73 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.40 earnings per share. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s revenue was down 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 21.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.29%. This is a positive change from Thermo Fisher Scientific’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s payout ratio is 10.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Debora L. Spar sold 164 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $546.97, for a total transaction of $89,703.08. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,207 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $660,192.79. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Director Debora L. Spar sold 164 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $546.97, for a total value of $89,703.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,207 shares in the company, valued at approximately $660,192.79. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $597.98, for a total transaction of $5,979,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 123,816 shares in the company, valued at approximately $74,039,491.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 50,277 shares of company stock valued at $28,513,384. 0.32% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on TMO. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $592.00 to $642.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. HSBC raised their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $630.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Barclays cut shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $475.00 to $555.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research note on Monday, March 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $620.00 target price for the company. Finally, TheStreet upgraded shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research note on Friday, December 22nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $604.69.

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.