KBC Group NV Lowers Stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

KBC Group NV decreased its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 19.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 303,801 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 72,392 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV owned about 0.08% of Thermo Fisher Scientific worth $158,046,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Missouri Trust & Investment Co bought a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.23% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In other Thermo Fisher Scientific news, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $558.12, for a total value of $5,581,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 33,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,757,296.96. The trade was a 22.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 34,850 shares of company stock worth $19,123,197 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TMO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $656.00 to $686.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $632.00 to $622.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $670.00 to $660.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research report on Monday, October 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $680.00 target price for the company. Finally, StockNews.com raised Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $648.95.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Price Performance

Shares of TMO stock opened at $575.21 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $220.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.06, a PEG ratio of 3.82 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $533.60 and its 200-day moving average is $569.58. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 1 year low of $493.30 and a 1 year high of $627.88.

Thermo Fisher Scientific declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Friday, November 15th that permits the company to buyback $4.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the medical research company to repurchase up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s payout ratio is 9.78%.

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.