Rockland Trust Co. Purchases 1,721 Shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Rockland Trust Co. raised its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO - Free Report) by 5.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 32,059 shares of the medical research company's stock after buying an additional 1,721 shares during the period. Rockland Trust Co.'s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $16,678,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have 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 approximately $26,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the third quarter worth $27,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the third quarter worth $50,000. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 2nd quarter valued at $50,000. Finally, Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America bought a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 3rd quarter worth about $65,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.23% of the company's stock.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Down 1.0 %

Thermo Fisher Scientific stock traded down $5.35 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $551.64. The stock had a trading volume of 3,251,296 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,182,221. 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 fifty-two week low of $493.30 and a fifty-two week high of $627.88. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $529.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $568.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $211.00 billion, a PE ratio of 34.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.76.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The medical research company reported $5.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.25 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $10.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.63 billion. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a net margin of 14.48% and a return on equity of 17.49%. The business's revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.69 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 21.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Friday, November 15th that authorizes the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the medical research company to repurchase up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are 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 $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.28%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Thermo Fisher Scientific's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.78%.

Insider Activity at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In related news, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $530.26, for a total transaction of $5,302,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 111,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,960,669.92. The trade was a 8.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 300 shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $9,333,946.08. This represents a 1.77 % 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 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on TMO. Bernstein Bank raised their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $565.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. TD Cowen upped their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $656.00 to $686.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $767.00 to $718.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Stephens started coverage on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. They set an "overweight" rating and a $680.00 price target for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased 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 research note on Thursday, October 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Thermo Fisher Scientific presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $648.95.

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.