BDF Gestion Sells 1,773 Shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

BDF Gestion decreased its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 11.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 13,650 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 1,773 shares during the quarter. BDF Gestion’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $7,101,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of TMO. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the third quarter valued at $27,000. Missouri Trust & Investment Co purchased a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,000. 89.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on TMO shares. Scotiabank began coverage on Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $605.00 target price for the company. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $632.00 to $622.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $656.00 to $686.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays dropped their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $620.00 to $610.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $630.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $648.95.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Performance

Thermo Fisher Scientific stock opened at $567.09 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $536.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $570.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The company has a market capitalization of $216.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.82 and a beta of 0.76. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 12-month low of $493.30 and a 12-month high of $627.88.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $6.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.94 by $0.16. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a net margin of 14.48% and a return on equity of 17.49%. On average, research analysts forecast that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 21.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.28%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.78%.

Thermo Fisher Scientific announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Friday, November 15th that allows the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the medical research company to repurchase up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In other Thermo Fisher Scientific news, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $558.12, for a total transaction of $5,581,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 33,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,757,296.96. This trade represents a 22.93 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders sold 34,850 shares of company stock valued at $19,123,197 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.