Wellington Management Group LLP Sells 1,100,685 Shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Wellington Management Group LLP decreased its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 43.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,427,952 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 1,100,685 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $742,863,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of TMO. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Barrett & Company Inc. acquired a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Missouri Trust & Investment Co bought a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Institutional investors own 89.23% of the company’s stock.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Performance

Shares of TMO opened at $498.05 on Tuesday. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a one year low of $484.27 and a one year high of $627.88. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $540.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $551.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $187.89 billion, a PE ratio of 30.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.79.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last issued its quarterly 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, analysts anticipate that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 23.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.43 dividend. 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 yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s payout ratio is presently 10.41%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on TMO. Wells Fargo & Company increased 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 report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $700.00 to $715.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $647.00 to $678.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America reduced their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $675.00 to $660.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $650.00 to $570.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $653.23.

Insider Buying and Selling at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In other Thermo Fisher Scientific news, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $585.59, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 1.80 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 23,900 shares of company stock worth $13,106,062. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.