Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) Shares Sold by M. Kraus & Co

M. Kraus & Co cut its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 0.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 31,213 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 53 shares during the quarter. Thermo Fisher Scientific makes up 4.9% of M. Kraus & Co’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. M. Kraus & Co’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $16,238,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of TMO. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. HWG Holdings LP bought a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 2nd quarter worth $50,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the third quarter valued at about $50,000. Finally, Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the third quarter valued at about $65,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.23% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $530.26, for a total transaction of $5,302,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 111,192 shares in the company, valued at $58,960,669.92. This trade represents a 8.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $560.16, for a total value of $168,048.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,663 shares in the company, valued at $9,333,946.08. The trade was a 1.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 47,150 shares of company stock valued at $25,954,465 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of TMO stock opened at $557.49 on Wednesday. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a twelve month low of $493.30 and a twelve month high of $627.88. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $529.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $568.13. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $213.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.95, a P/E/G ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.76.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The medical research company reported $5.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.25 by $0.03. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a return on equity of 17.49% and a net margin of 14.48%. The company had revenue of $10.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.63 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.69 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 21.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Friday, November 15th that allows the company to buyback $4.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the medical research company to purchase up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.28%. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s payout ratio is 9.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on TMO shares. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $670.00 to $647.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Scotiabank started coverage on Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $605.00 price target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $680.00 to $665.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $632.00 to $622.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research note on Monday, October 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $680.00 price target for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $648.95.

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.