Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) Shares Sold by Bell Asset Management Ltd

Bell Asset Management Ltd trimmed its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 10,872 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 98 shares during the period. Bell Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $5,656,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of TMO. Howard Capital Management Group LLC raised its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 0.5% during the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 54,575 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $33,759,000 after purchasing an additional 286 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 22.1% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,247,838 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $771,876,000 after buying an additional 225,568 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 8.3% during the third quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 16,236 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $10,043,000 after buying an additional 1,245 shares in the last quarter. Zacks Investment Management grew its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 12.9% during the third quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 45,733 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $28,289,000 after acquiring an additional 5,236 shares during the period. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 533 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $330,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.23% of the company’s stock.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Price Performance

TMO opened at $437.71 on Monday. 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 1 year low of $411.12 and a 1 year high of $627.88. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $532.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $547.03. The stock has a market cap of $165.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.48, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.86.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $6.10 EPS 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%. Analysts forecast that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 23.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on TMO. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $647.00 to $678.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Scotiabank upped their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $605.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com raised Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $667.00 target price (up from $650.00) on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $650.00 to $570.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $653.23.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $516.67, for a total transaction of $5,166,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 115,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $59,506,950.58. This represents a 7.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 300 shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $585.59, for a total transaction of $175,677.00. Following the completion of 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 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 quarter. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.