Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. Sells 7,800 Shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. cut its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 16.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 40,300 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 7,800 shares during the period. Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc.’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $20,965,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in TMO. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Barrett & Company Inc. purchased a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Missouri Trust & Investment Co purchased a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. 89.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Performance

Shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific stock opened at $518.58 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $546.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $556.94. The company has a market capitalization of $195.64 billion, a PE ratio of 31.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.79. 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 52 week low of $493.30 and a 52 week high of $627.88.

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

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This is an increase 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 dividend yield of 0.33%. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.41%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on TMO shares. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $630.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $660.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $675.00 to $660.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 13th. Royal Bank of Canada set a $693.00 price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $667.00 price objective (up from $650.00) on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a report on Monday, February 3rd. 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, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $653.23.

Insider Transactions at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In other news, SVP Michael A. Boxer sold 3,775 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,759,736.32. This represents a 25.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Stephen Williamson sold 9,825 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $585.59, for a total value of $5,753,421.75. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 27,296 shares in the company, 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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 23,900 shares of company stock valued at $13,106,062. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Company 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.