Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) Stock Holdings Lowered by Wedbush Securities Inc.

Wedbush Securities Inc. cut its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 3.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,665 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 144 shares during the quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc.’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $1,906,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Barrett & Company Inc. bought a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Missouri Trust & Investment Co acquired a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Institutional investors own 89.23% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In other 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 115,174 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,506,950.58. This trade represents a 7.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Stephen Williamson sold 9,825 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 27,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,984,264.64. This represents a 26.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 23,900 shares of company stock valued at $13,106,062. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Price Performance

NYSE TMO opened at $437.71 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $532.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $547.47. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 52-week low of $437.22 and a 52-week high of $627.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $165.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.86. 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 (NYSE:TMO) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 17.51%. Equities research 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 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. This is a boost 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.39%. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s payout ratio is presently 10.41%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on TMO shares. UBS Group upped their price target 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. Bank of America decreased their price target on 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. Royal Bank of Canada set a $693.00 price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup lowered their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $650.00 to $570.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Scotiabank raised 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 report on Monday, February 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $653.23.

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.