Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) Shares Purchased by Avantax Advisory Services Inc.

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 37,414 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 325 shares during the quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $19,464,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Great Lakes Advisors LLC grew its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 203,668 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $105,954,000 after acquiring an additional 4,404 shares in the last quarter. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $76,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,948 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,054,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management boosted its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 19.5% during the 4th quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 1,228 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $639,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 94,571 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $49,199,000 after buying an additional 5,303 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TMO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Bank of America reduced their target price 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. Morgan Stanley increased 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. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $605.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and set a $667.00 price objective (up from $650.00) on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Citigroup reduced 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Thermo Fisher Scientific presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $653.23.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Stephen Williamson sold 9,825 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 27,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,984,264.64. The trade was a 26.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $585.59, for a total value of $175,677.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,582,009.17. The trade was a 1.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 23,900 shares of company stock worth $13,106,062. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE:TMO opened at $512.94 on Thursday. 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 1-year low of $493.30 and a 1-year high of $627.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $193.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.79. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $549.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $560.46.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.94 by $0.16. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a return on equity of 17.51% and a net margin of 14.78%. Sell-side analysts forecast 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. 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 0.34%. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.41%.

Thermo Fisher Scientific announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Friday, November 15th that permits the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the medical research company to buy up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.