Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Lowers Position in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lessened its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 20.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 221,747 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 58,544 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank owned approximately 0.06% of Thermo Fisher Scientific worth $115,359,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the third quarter valued at $26,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the third quarter valued at $27,000. Barrett & Company Inc. purchased a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.23% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $585.59, for a total value of $175,677.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,363 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,582,009.17. The trade was a 1.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $516.67, for a total value of $5,166,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 115,174 shares in the company, valued at $59,506,950.58. This represents a 7.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 20,125 shares of company stock worth $11,095,799 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Performance

NYSE:TMO opened at $531.74 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $549.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $561.98. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 52-week low of $493.30 and a 52-week high of $627.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $200.60 billion, a PE ratio of 32.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.79. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $6.10 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%. Analysts forecast that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 23.28 EPS for the current year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan 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 purchase up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.32%. This is an increase from Thermo Fisher Scientific’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s payout ratio is presently 10.41%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on TMO. 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 research note on Friday, January 31st. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $605.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $667.00 price target (up previously from $650.00) on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $630.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $653.23.

Thermo Fisher Scientific 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.