Anchor Capital Advisors LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Anchor Capital Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 3.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 30,195 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 1,156 shares during the period. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $15,708,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of TMO. Stonegate Investment Group LLC increased its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 6,788 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,531,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. Semus Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Semus Wealth Partners LLC now owns 471 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $245,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the period. Angeles Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 0.5% in the third quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,921 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,425,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Bangor Savings Bank increased its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 334 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $174,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC lifted its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC now owns 7,463 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,882,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. 89.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Performance

Shares of TMO stock opened at $523.40 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 12-month low of $493.30 and a 12-month high of $627.88. The company has a market cap of $197.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.77. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $549.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $565.93.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $6.10 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.94 by $0.16. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a return on equity of 17.51% and a net margin of 14.78%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 23.28 EPS for the current year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 is a boost from Thermo Fisher Scientific’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.33%. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.41%.

Thermo Fisher Scientific announced that its Board of Directors has approved 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 reacquire up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on TMO shares. StockNews.com raised Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report 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 target on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Royal Bank of Canada set a $693.00 target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America reduced 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 report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Thermo Fisher Scientific currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $656.86.

Insider Transactions at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In other Thermo Fisher Scientific news, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $530.26, for a total transaction of $5,302,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 111,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,960,669.92. This trade represents a 8.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $585.59, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 1.80 % 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 valued at $11,231,699 in the last quarter. 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.