First Financial Bank Trust Division Sells 196 Shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

First Financial Bank Trust Division cut its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 3.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 6,151 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 196 shares during the period. First Financial Bank Trust Division’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $3,200,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. HWG Holdings LP bought a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the second quarter worth $50,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the third quarter valued at about $50,000. Finally, Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America purchased a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the third quarter worth about $65,000. Institutional investors own 89.23% of the company’s stock.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE TMO traded up $2.34 during trading on Thursday, reaching $522.57. The company had a trading volume of 1,809,267 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,544,040. The business’s 50-day moving average is $531.86 and its 200 day moving average is $569.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The stock has a market cap of $199.88 billion, a PE ratio of 32.76, a P/E/G ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.77. 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 issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The medical research company reported $5.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.25 by $0.03. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a net margin of 14.48% and a return on equity of 17.49%. The business had revenue of $10.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.63 billion. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.69 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 21.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Thermo Fisher Scientific Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.30%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s payout ratio is currently 9.78%.

Insider Activity at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In related news, SVP Michael A. Boxer sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $560.16, for a total transaction of $1,120,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 12,736 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,134,197.76. This represents a 13.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $554.29, for a total value of $5,542,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 121,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $67,175,513.68. This represents a 7.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 47,150 shares of company stock valued at $25,954,465 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

TMO has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $650.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $632.00 to $622.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Stephens started coverage on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. They set an “overweight” rating and a $680.00 price target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $680.00 to $665.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Thermo Fisher Scientific presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $650.05.

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.