Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. Boosts Holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. lifted its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO - Free Report) by 7.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 22,856 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares during the period. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.'s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $11,945,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Barrett & Company Inc. bought a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Missouri Trust & Investment Co purchased a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 89.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 115,174 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $59,506,950.58. This trade represents a 7.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $585.59, for a total value of $175,677.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,363 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 sold 23,900 shares of company stock valued at $13,106,062 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Trading Down 0.6 %

TMO stock traded down $2.69 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $421.55. The stock had a trading volume of 2,527,222 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,746,685. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 12-month low of $409.85 and a 12-month high of $627.88. The firm has a market cap of $159.13 billion, a PE ratio of 25.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.86. The company's 50-day moving average price is $487.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $526.70. 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 - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The medical research company reported $5.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.10 by $0.05. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a return on equity of 17.51% and a net margin of 14.78%. The firm had revenue of $10.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.11 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 23.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.41%. This is an increase from Thermo Fisher Scientific's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Thermo Fisher Scientific's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TMO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group decreased their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $715.00 to $500.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $585.00 to $500.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $610.00 price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $665.00 to $620.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $651.00 to $637.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $616.95.

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.