Wellspring Financial Advisors LLC Decreases Stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Wellspring Financial Advisors LLC lessened its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 6.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 635 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 46 shares during the quarter. Wellspring Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $330,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in TMO. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Barrett & Company Inc. acquired a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Missouri Trust & Investment Co purchased a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Bank of America decreased their price objective on 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. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $647.00 to $678.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $650.00 to $570.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. StockNews.com upgraded Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $653.23.

Insider Buying and Selling at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In related news, CFO Stephen Williamson sold 9,825 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 27,296 shares in the company, valued at $15,984,264.64. This trade represents a 26.47 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 300 shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $585.59, for a total value of $175,677.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,582,009.17. The trade was a 1.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 23,900 shares of company stock valued at $13,106,062 in the last 90 days. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Down 6.9 %

Shares of TMO stock opened at $437.71 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $532.01 and a 200-day moving average of $547.03. The firm has a market cap of $165.13 billion, a PE ratio of 26.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.86. 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 Inc. has a 12 month low of $411.12 and a 12 month high of $627.88.

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 the consensus estimate of $5.94 by $0.16. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 17.51%. On average, equities analysts predict that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 23.28 EPS for the current year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.39%. This is a positive change from Thermo Fisher Scientific’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.41%.

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.