Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) Shares Sold by Maryland State Retirement & Pension System

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lessened its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 6.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 20,619 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 1,406 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $10,727,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the third quarter valued at $26,000. Barrett & Company Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Missouri Trust & Investment Co acquired a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.23% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In other news, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Stephen Williamson sold 9,825 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were 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 directly owns 27,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,984,264.64. This represents a 26.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 23,900 shares of company stock valued at $13,106,062. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on TMO. UBS Group upped their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $700.00 to $715.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $647.00 to $678.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup dropped their target price on 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. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $675.00 to $660.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price objective 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Thermo Fisher Scientific presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $653.23.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Price Performance

Shares of TMO stock opened at $521.42 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $547.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $557.48. 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 12 month low of $493.30 and a 12 month high of $627.88. The company has a market capitalization of $196.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.79.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $6.10 earnings per share (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%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 23.28 EPS for the current year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.33%. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.41%.

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.