Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) Shares Purchased by Ballast Advisors LLC

Ballast Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 10.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,923 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 182 shares during the quarter. Ballast Advisors LLC’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $1,000,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Thermo Fisher Scientific Price Performance

Thermo Fisher Scientific stock opened at $518.58 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.66. The company has a market capitalization of $195.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.79. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $546.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $556.94. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 1 year low of $493.30 and a 1 year high of $627.88.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 17.51% and a net margin of 14.78%. As a group, equities research analysts expect 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued 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 0.33%. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s dividend payout ratio is 10.41%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on TMO shares. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $700.00 to $715.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $660.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $667.00 price objective (up previously from $650.00) on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Scotiabank raised their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $605.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $647.00 to $678.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $653.23.

Insider Buying and Selling at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In related news, CFO Stephen Williamson sold 9,825 shares of the company’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 transaction of $5,753,421.75. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 27,296 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,984,264.64. This represents a 26.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 115,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $59,506,950.58. This represents a 7.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 23,900 shares of company stock valued at $13,106,062 in the last 90 days. Company 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.