Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) Shares Acquired by Bell Bank

Bell Bank boosted its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 3.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,789 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Bell Bank’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $931,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. AMF Tjanstepension AB acquired a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 3rd quarter valued at about $42,409,000. Howard Capital Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 0.5% in the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 54,575 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $33,759,000 after acquiring an additional 286 shares during the period. Grimes & Company Inc. grew its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. now owns 2,390 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,479,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. Mcdaniel Terry & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Mcdaniel Terry & Co. now owns 29,700 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $18,372,000 after purchasing an additional 911 shares during the period. Finally, DT Investment Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 3.6% during the third quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,364 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $844,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. 89.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $585.59, for a total value of $175,677.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,582,009.17. This represents a 1.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $530.26, for a total value of $5,302,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 111,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $58,960,669.92. This trade represents a 8.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 20,125 shares of company stock worth $11,231,699 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Performance

Shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific stock opened at $532.55 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $203.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.77. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $548.47 and a 200 day moving average of $567.70.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $6.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 23.28 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.32%. This is an increase from Thermo Fisher Scientific’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s payout ratio is currently 9.44%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on TMO. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $667.00 price objective (up from $650.00) on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America decreased their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $675.00 to $660.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $700.00 to $715.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Thermo Fisher Scientific presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $658.00.

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.