Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC Sells 1,386 Shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 11.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 11,170 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 1,386 shares during the period. Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $5,811,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Barrett & Company Inc. acquired a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Missouri Trust & Investment Co bought a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.23% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $530.26, for a total value of $5,302,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 111,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $58,960,669.92. This represents a 8.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Stephen Williamson sold 9,825 shares of the company’s 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $15,984,264.64. This trade represents a 26.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 20,125 shares of company stock worth $11,231,699. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

TMO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada set a $693.00 price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup boosted their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com upgraded Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $630.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Thermo Fisher Scientific currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $656.86.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:TMO opened at $532.55 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $203.70 billion, a PE ratio of 32.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.66 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 business has a 50 day moving average of $548.47 and a 200-day moving average of $567.32.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $6.10 earnings per share 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 research analysts forecast that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 23.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Friday, November 15th that permits the company to buyback $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the medical research company to repurchase up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. 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%.

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.