Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Trims Stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. reduced its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 1.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,031 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 164 shares during the quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $4,698,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Barrett & Company Inc. bought a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Missouri Trust & Investment Co bought a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. 89.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Trading Down 1.0 %

NYSE:TMO opened at $526.32 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $549.26 and a 200 day moving average of $561.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $198.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.84, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.79. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 52 week low of $493.30 and a 52 week high of $627.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

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

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

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $516.67, for a total transaction of $5,166,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 115,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $59,506,950.58. This trade represents a 7.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Stephen Williamson sold 9,825 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $585.59, for a total transaction of $5,753,421.75. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 27,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,984,264.64. This trade represents a 26.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 20,125 shares of company stock valued at $11,095,799. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada set a $693.00 target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research note on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $700.00 to $715.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $630.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $605.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.