Aviso Financial Inc. Buys 3,236 Shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Aviso Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 3.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 95,109 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,236 shares during the period. Thermo Fisher Scientific makes up approximately 2.5% of Aviso Financial Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Aviso Financial Inc.’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $49,479,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Barrett & Company Inc. bought a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Institutional investors own 89.23% of the company’s stock.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE TMO opened at $508.62 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $548.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $560.10. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $191.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.79. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 12-month low of $493.30 and a 12-month high of $627.88.

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

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.34%. This is a boost from Thermo Fisher Scientific’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.41%.

Thermo Fisher Scientific declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Friday, November 15th that authorizes the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the medical research company to repurchase 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 shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on TMO. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $700.00 to $715.00 and gave the company a “buy” 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 for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $647.00 to $678.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $667.00 price objective (up previously from $650.00) on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $660.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Thermo Fisher Scientific currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $653.23.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Michael A. Boxer sold 3,775 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 10,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,759,736.32. This represents a 25.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $516.67, for a total transaction of $5,166,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 115,174 shares in the company, valued at $59,506,950.58. This trade represents a 7.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 23,900 shares of company stock valued at $13,106,062 in the last ninety days. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.