Empirical Asset Management LLC Makes New $34.78 Million Investment in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Empirical Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 66,863 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $34,784,000. Thermo Fisher Scientific makes up approximately 1.0% of Empirical Asset Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the third quarter valued at $26,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the second quarter worth about $50,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the third quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Finally, Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America purchased a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the third quarter worth approximately $65,000. 89.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,663 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,333,946.08. This represents a 1.77 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Michael A. Boxer sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $560.16, for a total transaction of $1,120,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 12,736 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,134,197.76. This trade represents a 13.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 47,150 shares of company stock worth $25,954,465. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on TMO shares. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $630.00 to $620.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $670.00 to $647.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Thermo Fisher Scientific from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $630.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Stephens began coverage on Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. They set an "overweight" rating and a $680.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $670.00 to $660.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Four investment 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 MarketBeat.com, Thermo Fisher Scientific has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $648.95.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Performance

Thermo Fisher Scientific stock traded down $1.99 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $559.72. 2,134,669 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,146,379. The firm has a market cap of $214.09 billion, a PE ratio of 35.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.59 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. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $529.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $567.97. 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 - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The medical research company reported $5.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.25 by $0.03. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a net margin of 14.48% and a return on equity of 17.49%. The firm had revenue of $10.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.63 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.69 EPS. Thermo Fisher Scientific's quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 21.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Friday, November 15th that permits the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the medical research company to reacquire up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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 0.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. Thermo Fisher Scientific's dividend payout ratio is presently 9.78%.

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.