Gabelli Funds LLC Reduces Stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Gabelli Funds LLC lessened its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 3.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 25,035 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 885 shares during the quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $13,024,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Barrett & Company Inc. purchased a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Missouri Trust & Investment Co bought a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. bought a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. 89.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Price Performance

Thermo Fisher Scientific stock opened at $436.90 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $164.93 billion, a PE ratio of 26.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.86. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 12-month low of $409.85 and a 12-month high of $627.88. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $502.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $536.26. 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 (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%. As a group, equities research 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date was 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 dividend yield of 0.39%. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.41%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

TMO has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup lowered 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 note on Tuesday, March 4th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $700.00 to $715.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada set a $693.00 price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price 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. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $620.00 to $475.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Thermo Fisher Scientific has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $647.43.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Michael A. Boxer sold 3,775 shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $532.52, for a total transaction of $2,010,263.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 10,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,759,736.32. The trade was a 25.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $516.67, for a total value of $5,166,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly 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 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. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Thermo Fisher Scientific 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.