Anchor Capital Advisors LLC Sells 1,156 Shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Anchor Capital Advisors LLC trimmed its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 3.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,195 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 1,156 shares during the period. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $15,708,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of TMO. AMF Tjanstepension AB acquired a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the third quarter valued at about $42,409,000. Howard Capital Management Group LLC increased its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 54,575 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $33,759,000 after purchasing an additional 286 shares in the last quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 16.0% in the third quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 1,296 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $801,000 after buying an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the third quarter valued at $472,000. Finally, Mutual Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 10.9% in the 3rd quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 2,603 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,610,000 after acquiring an additional 256 shares during the period. 89.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Trading Down 1.9 %

TMO stock opened at $523.40 on Friday. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 12-month low of $493.30 and a 12-month high of $627.88. The business’s 50-day moving average is $549.27 and its 200 day moving average is $565.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The stock has a market cap of $197.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.66, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.77.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $6.10 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.94 by $0.16. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a return on equity of 17.51% and a net margin of 14.78%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 23.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.33%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Thermo Fisher Scientific’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.41%.

Thermo Fisher Scientific declared that its board has approved 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 reacquire up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on TMO shares. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $605.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $647.00 to $678.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com upgraded Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $667.00 price target (up from $650.00) on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Thermo Fisher Scientific has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $656.86.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 300 shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $585.59, for a total transaction of $175,677.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,363 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,582,009.17. This trade represents a 1.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Stephen Williamson sold 9,825 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $585.59, for a total value of $5,753,421.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 27,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,984,264.64. The trade was a 26.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 20,125 shares of company stock valued at $11,231,699 in the last ninety days. 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.