Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) Shares Sold by Bahl & Gaynor Inc.

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. cut its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,861 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 25 shares during the quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $968,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the third quarter worth $26,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Barrett & Company Inc. acquired a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Missouri Trust & Investment Co purchased a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on TMO. Bank of America lowered their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $675.00 to $660.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 13th. 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. Sanford C. Bernstein raised 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. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $650.00 to $570.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Thermo Fisher Scientific has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $653.23.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Trading Up 1.6 %

TMO opened at $524.63 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $197.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.77. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $548.99 and its 200-day moving average is $563.46. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $6.10 earnings per share 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%. Analysts expect that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 23.28 EPS 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 given a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.33%. This is an increase from Thermo Fisher Scientific’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.41%.

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

Insider Activity at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In other news, CFO Stephen Williamson sold 9,825 shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific 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 $5,753,421.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 27,296 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,984,264.64. This trade represents a 26.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,363 shares in the company, valued at $9,582,009.17. This trade represents a 1.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.