Hills Bank & Trust Co Sells 281 Shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Hills Bank & Trust Co trimmed its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,264 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 281 shares during the quarter. Hills Bank & Trust Co’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $5,860,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. First National Trust Co increased its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. First National Trust Co now owns 13,498 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $7,022,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Sienna Gestion purchased a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 4th quarter worth $5,364,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 4th quarter worth $280,000. Carret Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Carret Asset Management LLC now owns 8,058 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,192,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Midwest Professional Planners LTD. boosted its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Midwest Professional Planners LTD. now owns 823 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $428,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.23% of the company’s stock.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Performance

NYSE TMO opened at $523.44 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $548.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $559.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $197.47 billion, a PE ratio of 31.67, 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 current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.29. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 1 year low of $493.30 and a 1 year high of $627.88.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $6.10 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 predict that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 23.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.43 dividend. 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. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.33%. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.41%.

Thermo Fisher Scientific declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Friday, November 15th that allows the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the medical research company to reacquire up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

TMO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group upped their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $700.00 to $715.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $667.00 price target (up from $650.00) on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $660.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Scotiabank boosted their target price 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. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $675.00 to $660.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Thermo Fisher Scientific has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $653.23.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 300 shares of the business’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 value of $175,677.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,363 shares in the company, valued at $9,582,009.17. The trade was a 1.80 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 115,174 shares in the company, valued at $59,506,950.58. The trade was a 7.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 23,900 shares of company stock worth $13,106,062. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.