Polen Capital Management LLC Decreases Stock Position in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Polen Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 12.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,461,195 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 345,591 shares during the quarter. Thermo Fisher Scientific comprises approximately 3.5% of Polen Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Polen Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $1,280,388,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of TMO. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA increased its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA now owns 1,126 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $586,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 6,672 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,471,000 after buying an additional 524 shares during the last quarter. Greenwich Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 12.1% in the 4th quarter. Greenwich Wealth Management LLC now owns 595 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $310,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Avalon Trust Co increased its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Avalon Trust Co now owns 36,784 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $19,136,000 after buying an additional 2,162 shares during the last quarter. Finally, one8zero8 LLC bought a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 4th quarter worth about $3,405,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.23% of the company’s stock.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Price Performance

Shares of TMO opened at $523.44 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $548.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $558.79. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $493.30 and a fifty-two week high of $627.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $197.47 billion, a PE ratio of 31.67, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.66.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $6.10 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities analysts predict that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 23.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This is a boost from Thermo Fisher Scientific’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.33%. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.41%.

Insider Activity at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In other Thermo Fisher Scientific news, CFO Stephen Williamson sold 9,825 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 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. This represents a 26.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael A. Boxer sold 3,775 shares of the company’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 transaction of $2,010,263.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 10,816 shares in the company, valued at $5,759,736.32. The trade was a 25.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 23,900 shares of company stock valued at $13,106,062 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on TMO. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $667.00 target price (up from $650.00) on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $650.00 to $570.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $647.00 to $678.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $700.00 to $715.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $675.00 to $660.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $653.23.

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.