Tower Bridge Advisors Reduces Holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Tower Bridge Advisors lowered its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,198 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 145 shares during the period. Thermo Fisher Scientific makes up about 1.4% of Tower Bridge Advisors’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Tower Bridge Advisors’ holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $13,109,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the third quarter valued at $27,000. Barrett & Company Inc. acquired a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Missouri Trust & Investment Co acquired a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.23% of the company’s stock.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Performance

Shares of TMO opened at $528.99 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $549.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $565.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $199.57 billion, a PE ratio of 32.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.77. 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 52-week low of $493.30 and a 52-week high of $627.88.

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

Thermo Fisher Scientific announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Friday, November 15th that permits the company to buyback $4.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the medical research company to purchase up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Thermo Fisher Scientific’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In other Thermo Fisher Scientific news, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were 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 directly owns 16,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,582,009.17. This represents a 1.80 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Stephen Williamson sold 9,825 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were 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 directly owns 27,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,984,264.64. The trade was a 26.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 20,125 shares of company stock valued at $11,231,699. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on TMO. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $675.00 to $660.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 13th. Royal Bank of Canada set a $693.00 price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $647.00 to $678.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $700.00 to $715.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $656.86.

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.