Osterweis Capital Management Inc. Grows Stock Position in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Osterweis Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 64,286 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,419 shares during the period. Thermo Fisher Scientific comprises 1.6% of Osterweis Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest position. Osterweis Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $33,443,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 115,174 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,506,950.58. The trade was a 7.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Michael A. Boxer sold 3,775 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 10,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,759,736.32. This represents a 25.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 23,900 shares of company stock worth $13,106,062. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Royal Bank of Canada set a $693.00 target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays dropped their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $620.00 to $475.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. UBS Group upped their target price 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $660.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $647.43.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Trading Down 0.9 %

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

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $6.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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, equities analysts forecast that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 23.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

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