Blue Barn Wealth LLC Sells 320 Shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Blue Barn Wealth LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 37.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 541 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 320 shares during the period. Blue Barn Wealth LLC’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $281,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of TMO. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the third quarter valued at $27,000. Barrett & Company Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Missouri Trust & Investment Co bought a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.23% of the company’s stock.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Trading Up 1.6 %

Thermo Fisher Scientific stock opened at $524.63 on Thursday. 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 Inc. has a 12-month low of $493.30 and a 12-month high of $627.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $197.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.77. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $548.99 and a 200 day moving average of $563.46.

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 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, research analysts predict that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 23.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.33%. This is a boost from Thermo Fisher Scientific’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s payout ratio is 10.41%.

Thermo Fisher Scientific announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Friday, November 15th that authorizes the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the medical research company to repurchase up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TMO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded 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 report on Friday, January 10th. Royal Bank of Canada set a $693.00 target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $667.00 price objective (up from $650.00) on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Scotiabank upped 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. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Thermo Fisher Scientific has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $653.23.

Insider Transactions at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In other news, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 300 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 $175,677.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,363 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,582,009.17. The trade was a 1.80 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Stephen Williamson sold 9,825 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $15,984,264.64. This represents a 26.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.