Scotia Capital Inc. Purchases 23,168 Shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Scotia Capital Inc. grew its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 57.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 63,585 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 23,168 shares during the quarter. Scotia Capital Inc.’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $33,082,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Barrett & Company Inc. bought a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Missouri Trust & Investment Co acquired a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Institutional investors own 89.23% of the company’s stock.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Trading Up 7.9 %

Shares of TMO opened at $452.24 on Thursday. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 1-year low of $409.85 and a 1-year high of $627.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $516.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $541.75. The stock has a market cap of $170.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.86.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last posted 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%. Equities analysts forecast that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 23.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Thermo Fisher Scientific’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.38%. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In other Thermo Fisher Scientific news, CFO Stephen Williamson sold 9,825 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was 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 $15,984,264.64. This represents a 26.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 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 have sold a total of 23,900 shares of company stock worth $13,106,062 in the last quarter. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on TMO shares. StockNews.com upgraded Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $650.00 to $570.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $647.00 to $678.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $667.00 price objective (up from $650.00) on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $700.00 to $715.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $653.23.

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.