Wealthfront Advisers LLC Buys 22,079 Shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Wealthfront Advisers LLC lifted its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 102.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 43,659 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 22,079 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $22,713,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 19.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,877,459 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,872,761,000 after acquiring an additional 1,294,453 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 68,617.0% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 762,759 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $396,810,000 after acquiring an additional 761,649 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the fourth quarter worth $377,901,000. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the third quarter worth $254,412,000. Finally, Lindsell Train Ltd purchased a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the fourth quarter worth $211,858,000. Institutional investors own 89.23% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Stephen Williamson sold 9,825 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 27,296 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,984,264.64. This represents a 26.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 115,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $59,506,950.58. The trade was a 7.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 23,900 shares of company stock valued at $13,106,062 over the last 90 days. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on TMO shares. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $630.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $700.00 to $715.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Scotiabank boosted 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 note on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $675.00 to $660.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada set a $693.00 target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $653.23.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Price Performance

Thermo Fisher Scientific stock opened at $514.40 on Wednesday. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 12-month low of $493.30 and a 12-month high of $627.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $194.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.79. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $549.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $560.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.29.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $6.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 predict that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 23.28 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This is an increase 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 dividend yield of 0.33%. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s payout ratio is 10.41%.

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.