Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) Shares Sold by Arvest Bank Trust Division

Arvest Bank Trust Division cut its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 24.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,094 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 353 shares during the period. Arvest Bank Trust Division’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $569,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of TMO. Barrett & Company Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Missouri Trust & Investment Co acquired a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.23% of the company’s stock.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of TMO stock opened at $436.90 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $502.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $536.26. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $409.85 and a fifty-two week high of $627.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $164.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.86.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last issued its earnings results 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 net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 17.51%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 23.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.43 dividend. This is a positive change from Thermo Fisher Scientific’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.39%. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.41%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on TMO shares. Royal Bank of Canada set a $693.00 target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $650.00 to $570.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $700.00 to $715.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $660.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $647.00 to $678.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $647.43.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Stephen Williamson sold 9,825 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 $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. The trade was a 26.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the 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 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 23,900 shares of company stock worth $13,106,062. Company 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.