Davis Rea LTD. Raises Stock Holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Davis Rea LTD. lifted its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 143.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 29,260 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,231 shares during the period. Thermo Fisher Scientific comprises about 7.7% of Davis Rea LTD.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Davis Rea LTD.’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $15,233,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. AMF Tjanstepension AB bought a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,409,000. Howard Capital Management Group LLC raised its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 54,575 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $33,759,000 after acquiring an additional 286 shares during the last quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. raised its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 16.0% in the 3rd quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 1,296 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $801,000 after buying an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 3rd quarter valued at about $472,000. Finally, Mutual Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 10.9% during the third quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 2,603 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,610,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. 89.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 111,192 shares in the company, valued at $58,960,669.92. This represents a 8.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Stephen Williamson sold 9,825 shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $585.59, for a total value of $5,753,421.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 27,296 shares in the company, valued at $15,984,264.64. This trade represents a 26.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 20,125 shares of company stock valued at $11,231,699 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE TMO opened at $523.40 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $197.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.66, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.77. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $549.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $565.93. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 1 year low of $493.30 and a 1 year high of $627.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.29.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $6.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Research analysts anticipate that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 23.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Friday, November 15th that allows the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the medical research company to buy up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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 given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This is an increase 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 0.33%. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.41%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group lifted their target price 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. StockNews.com raised Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target 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. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada set a $693.00 price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Thermo Fisher Scientific currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $656.86.

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.