Argent Trust Co Cuts Position in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Argent Trust Co lessened its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 2.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 21,940 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 643 shares during the quarter. Argent Trust Co’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $11,414,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of TMO. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,149,754,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 68,617.0% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 762,759 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $396,810,000 after purchasing an additional 761,649 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 4th quarter valued at $377,901,000. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 140.7% during the 4th quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 1,093,866 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $569,062,000 after buying an additional 639,467 shares during the period. Finally, Lindsell Train Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 4th quarter worth approximately $211,858,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.23% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In other news, SVP Michael A. Boxer sold 3,775 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $532.52, for a total value of $2,010,263.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 10,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,759,736.32. This represents a 25.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 115,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $59,506,950.58. This trade represents a 7.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 23,900 shares of company stock valued at $13,106,062. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on TMO. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $700.00 to $715.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $675.00 to $660.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Royal Bank of Canada set a $693.00 price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted 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 report on Monday, February 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Thermo Fisher Scientific has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $653.23.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Price Performance

Shares of TMO traded down $17.27 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $436.28. 257,449 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,052,448. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.66. The stock has a market cap of $164.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.39, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.86. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 52 week low of $409.85 and a 52 week high of $627.88. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $516.75 and a 200-day moving average of $541.75.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $6.10 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.94 by $0.16. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 17.51%. On average, analysts forecast that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 23.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.39%. This is a boost from Thermo Fisher Scientific’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s dividend 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.