HighTower Advisors LLC Trims Stock Position in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

HighTower Advisors LLC lowered its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO - Free Report) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 177,670 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 4,780 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC's holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $92,429,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Barrett & Company Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Missouri Trust & Investment Co acquired a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.23% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on TMO. Raymond James restated an "outperform" rating and set a $667.00 target price (up from $650.00) on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $605.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $660.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $675.00 to $660.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Thermo Fisher Scientific from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $653.23.

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Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE TMO opened at $512.94 on Thursday. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 52-week low of $493.30 and a 52-week high of $627.88. The business's 50 day moving average is $549.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $560.46. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The firm has a market cap of $193.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.03, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.79.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $6.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.94 by $0.16. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a return on equity of 17.51% and a net margin of 14.78%. Research analysts predict that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 23.28 EPS for the current year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Thermo Fisher Scientific's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.34%. Thermo Fisher Scientific's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.41%.

Thermo Fisher Scientific declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Friday, November 15th that permits the company to buyback $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the medical research company to buy up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In other news, SVP Michael A. Boxer sold 3,775 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $532.52, for a total value of $2,010,263.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 10,816 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,759,736.32. This represents a 25.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,363 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,582,009.17. The trade was a 1.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 23,900 shares of company stock valued at $13,106,062. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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