Erste Asset Management GmbH Sells 26,537 Shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Erste Asset Management GmbH reduced its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 26.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 73,321 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 26,537 shares during the quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $38,339,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Barrett & Company Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Missouri Trust & Investment Co purchased a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. 89.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $516.67, for a total value of $5,166,700.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 115,174 shares in the company, valued at $59,506,950.58. The trade was a 7.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $585.59, for a total transaction of $175,677.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,363 shares in the company, valued at $9,582,009.17. This represents a 1.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 23,900 shares of company stock worth $13,106,062 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Performance

Shares of TMO opened at $512.94 on Thursday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $193.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.79. The company’s fifty day moving average is $549.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $560.46. 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 announced 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 net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 17.51%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 23.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Friday, November 15th that authorizes the company to buyback $4.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the medical research company to reacquire up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.43 dividend. 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.34%. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s payout ratio is currently 10.41%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on TMO shares. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $650.00 to $570.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Royal Bank of Canada set a $693.00 price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley upped their price target 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. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $605.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $700.00 to $715.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $653.23.

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.