Davis R M Inc. Has $68.19 Million Stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Davis R M Inc. lowered its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 131,075 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 818 shares during the period. Thermo Fisher Scientific accounts for 1.3% of Davis R M Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Davis R M Inc.’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $68,189,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of TMO. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 19.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,877,459 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,872,761,000 after purchasing an additional 1,294,453 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 68,617.0% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 762,759 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $396,810,000 after acquiring an additional 761,649 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 4th quarter worth $377,901,000. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 3rd quarter worth $254,412,000. Finally, Lindsell Train Ltd acquired a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 4th quarter worth $211,858,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on TMO shares. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $650.00 to $570.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $667.00 target price (up previously from $650.00) on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $700.00 to $715.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $630.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $647.00 to $678.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. 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 has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $653.23.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Performance

Shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific stock opened at $526.32 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $198.56 billion, a PE ratio of 31.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.79. 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 company has a 50 day moving average of $549.26 and a 200-day moving average of $561.44. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 1-year low of $493.30 and a 1-year high of $627.88.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $6.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast 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 declared 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 positive change 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%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.41%.

Thermo Fisher Scientific announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Friday, November 15th that allows the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the medical research company to purchase up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In related news, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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. This trade represents a 7.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Stephen Williamson sold 9,825 shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 27,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,984,264.64. The trade was a 26.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 20,125 shares of company stock valued at $11,095,799 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.