Strategic Financial Concepts LLC Invests $246,000 in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 473 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $246,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 183.6% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 18,783 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $10,792,000 after acquiring an additional 12,160 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 9.2% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 9,058 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $4,712,000 after purchasing an additional 766 shares in the last quarter. TigerOak Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,170,000. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $153,000. Finally, Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 105,664 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $54,970,000 after buying an additional 1,821 shares during the period. 89.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Performance

TMO traded down $5.28 during trading on Friday, hitting $532.55. 1,613,862 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,087,588. The firm has a market cap of $203.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.77. The stock's fifty day moving average is $548.36 and its 200 day moving average is $568.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a one year low of $493.30 and a one year high of $627.88.

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

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

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.32%. This is a positive change from Thermo Fisher Scientific's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Thermo Fisher Scientific's dividend payout ratio is presently 9.44%.

Insider Activity at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In other news, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $530.26, for a total value of $5,302,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 111,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,960,669.92. This trade represents a 8.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $585.59, for a total transaction of $175,677.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,363 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,582,009.17. This trade represents a 1.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 20,125 shares of company stock worth $11,231,699. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TMO has been the topic of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $647.00 to $678.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $605.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $700.00 to $715.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $660.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Thermo Fisher Scientific presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $658.00.

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.