Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) Shares Bought by Simmons Bank

Simmons Bank lifted its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,303 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 79 shares during the period. Simmons Bank’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $4,319,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in TMO. AMF Tjanstepension AB acquired a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 3rd quarter worth $42,409,000. Howard Capital Management Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 54,575 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $33,759,000 after buying an additional 286 shares during the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 132.1% during the 3rd quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,372 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $849,000 after buying an additional 781 shares during the last quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 16.0% during the 3rd quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 1,296 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $801,000 after buying an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,171 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,828,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. 89.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Thermo Fisher Scientific news, CFO Stephen Williamson sold 9,825 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $585.59, for a total value of $5,753,421.75. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 111,192 shares in the company, valued at $58,960,669.92. The trade was a 8.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 20,125 shares of company stock worth $11,231,699 over the last quarter. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $700.00 to $715.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America decreased 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. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $605.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Thermo Fisher Scientific has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $656.86.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Performance

Shares of TMO stock opened at $533.00 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $201.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.24, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.77. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a one year low of $493.30 and a one year high of $627.88. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $549.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $566.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.66.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $6.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.94 by $0.16. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 17.51%. Equities 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 of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Friday, November 15th that permits the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the medical research company to reacquire up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. This is a positive change from Thermo Fisher Scientific’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.32%. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s dividend payout ratio is 10.41%.

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.