Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) Shares Bought by Simmons Bank

Simmons Bank raised its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,303 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 79 shares during the period. Simmons Bank’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $4,319,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Barrett & Company Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Missouri Trust & Investment Co acquired a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. 89.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:TMO opened at $533.00 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $549.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $566.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $201.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.77. 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 Inc. has a 12 month low of $493.30 and a 12 month high of $627.88.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $6.10 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.94 by $0.16. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a return on equity of 17.51% and a net margin of 14.78%. As a group, equities analysts forecast 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.32%. This is a positive change from Thermo Fisher Scientific’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.41%.

Thermo Fisher Scientific declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Friday, November 15th that allows the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the medical research company to repurchase up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TMO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada set a $693.00 target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup boosted their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Scotiabank boosted their price target on 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. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $630.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $675.00 to $660.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $656.86.

Insider Activity at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In related news, CFO Stephen Williamson sold 9,825 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 27,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,984,264.64. This represents a 26.47 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $585.59, for a total value of $175,677.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,363 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,582,009.17. The trade was a 1.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 20,125 shares of company stock valued at $11,231,699. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.