Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) Shares Sold by Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC

Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC trimmed its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 0.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 42,939 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 85 shares during the quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $22,338,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of TMO. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Barrett & Company Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Missouri Trust & Investment Co acquired a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.23% of the company’s stock.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Trading Down 0.4 %

TMO opened at $511.69 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $193.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.79. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $542.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $553.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.29. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $493.30 and a fifty-two week high of $627.88.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $6.10 earnings per share (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%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 23.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.34%. 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 payout ratio is 10.41%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on TMO. Morgan Stanley raised their target price 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. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $630.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Citigroup decreased 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 research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $660.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $605.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $653.23.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 300 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 value of $175,677.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,363 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,582,009.17. The trade was a 1.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Stephen Williamson sold 9,825 shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, 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. Insiders sold a total of 23,900 shares of company stock worth $13,106,062 over the last quarter. 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.