Moody National Bank Trust Division Cuts Holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Moody National Bank Trust Division reduced its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 3.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,155 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 220 shares during the period. Moody National Bank Trust Division’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $3,202,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in TMO. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the third quarter worth approximately $50,000. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 2nd quarter valued at $50,000. Finally, Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America purchased a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 3rd quarter worth $65,000. 89.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Up 2.7 %

TMO traded up $14.80 during trading on Monday, hitting $557.11. The stock had a trading volume of 1,205,617 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,864,877. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $529.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $568.06. The company has a market capitalization of $213.09 billion, a PE ratio of 34.93, a PEG ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.76. 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 twelve month low of $493.30 and a twelve month high of $627.88.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last announced its earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.63 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $5.69 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 21.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Friday, November 15th that authorizes the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the medical research company to purchase up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.28%. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s payout ratio is currently 9.78%.

Insider Activity at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In other Thermo Fisher Scientific news, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 300 shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $560.16, for a total transaction of $168,048.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,663 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,333,946.08. The trade was a 1.77 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $554.29, for a total transaction of $5,542,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 121,192 shares in the company, valued at $67,175,513.68. The trade was a 7.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 47,150 shares of company stock valued at $25,954,465 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on Thermo Fisher Scientific in a report on Monday, October 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $680.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays lowered their price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $620.00 to $610.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $650.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $670.00 to $660.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $605.00 price objective on the stock. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $648.95.

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.