Delta Financial Group Inc. Acquires Shares of 715 Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Delta Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 715 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $372,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of TMO. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Barrett & Company Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Missouri Trust & Investment Co acquired a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. 89.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Stephen Williamson sold 9,825 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 $5,753,421.75. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 27,296 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,984,264.64. The trade was a 26.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 111,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $58,960,669.92. This trade represents a 8.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 20,125 shares of company stock valued at $11,231,699. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of TMO stock opened at $532.55 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $203.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.77. 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 $548.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $567.32.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $6.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.94 by $0.16. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 17.51%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 23.28 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 Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.32%. This is an increase from Thermo Fisher Scientific’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.41%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $647.00 to $678.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $667.00 price objective (up from $650.00) on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup increased their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America dropped their price target 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. Finally, Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $605.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. 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 an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $656.86.

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.