Sterling Investment Counsel LLC Has $538,000 Stock Position in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Sterling Investment Counsel LLC lessened its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 52.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,034 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 1,135 shares during the period. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $538,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 46,450 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $24,165,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC grew its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC now owns 10,665 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $5,548,000 after purchasing an additional 473 shares during the period. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 32.1% during the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,513 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $787,000 after purchasing an additional 368 shares during the last quarter. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI boosted its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 18.5% in the 4th quarter. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI now owns 36,190 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $18,827,000 after buying an additional 5,643 shares during the last quarter. Finally, James Hambro & Partners LLP raised its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. James Hambro & Partners LLP now owns 222,204 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $115,606,000 after acquiring an additional 12,751 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.23% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $558.12, for a total value of $5,581,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 33,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,757,296.96. This trade represents a 22.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 34,850 shares of company stock valued at $19,123,197. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Stephens initiated coverage on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $680.00 price target on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $630.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Bernstein Bank increased their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $565.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $670.00 to $660.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research note on Monday, October 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $680.00 price objective for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $648.95.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Performance

Shares of TMO stock opened at $583.43 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.63. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $493.30 and a fifty-two week high of $627.88. The company has a market capitalization of $223.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.58, a PEG ratio of 3.82 and a beta of 0.76. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $533.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $569.81.

Thermo Fisher Scientific declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Friday, November 15th that authorizes the company to buyback $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the medical research company to reacquire up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.78%.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Company 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.