Michael A. Boxer Sells 3,775 Shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) Stock

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) SVP Michael A. Boxer sold 3,775 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $532.52, for a total value of $2,010,263.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 10,816 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,759,736.32. This represents a 25.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Performance

Shares of TMO opened at $512.94 on Thursday. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 12 month low of $493.30 and a 12 month high of $627.88. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $549.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $560.46. 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 firm has a market cap of $193.51 billion, a PE ratio of 31.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.79.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last issued 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%. Equities research analysts predict 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.43 dividend. This is a positive change 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 yield of 0.34%. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.41%.

Thermo Fisher Scientific declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Friday, November 15th that permits the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the medical research company to reacquire up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

TMO has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $630.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. UBS Group upped their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $700.00 to $715.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $647.00 to $678.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada set a $693.00 price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $650.00 to $570.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Four equities research 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 stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $653.23.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Thermo Fisher Scientific

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Barrett & Company Inc. acquired a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.23% of the company’s stock.

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.