DnB Asset Management AS Buys 2,810 Shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

DnB Asset Management AS lifted its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 201,281 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 2,810 shares during the period. DnB Asset Management AS’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $104,712,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Barrett & Company Inc. purchased a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Missouri Trust & Investment Co purchased a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. 89.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TMO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup lowered their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $650.00 to $570.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $630.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Royal Bank of Canada set a $693.00 target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $675.00 to $660.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $653.23.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Performance

NYSE:TMO opened at $511.69 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.66. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $493.30 and a fifty-two week high of $627.88. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $542.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $553.64. The firm has a market cap of $193.04 billion, a PE ratio of 30.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.79.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 14.78% and a return on equity of 17.51%. Equities research analysts predict that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 23.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.34%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Thermo Fisher Scientific’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Stephen Williamson sold 9,825 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $585.59, for a total value of $5,753,421.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 27,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,984,264.64. This represents a 26.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 300 shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $585.59, for a total value of $175,677.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,363 shares in the company, valued at $9,582,009.17. This represents a 1.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 23,900 shares of company stock valued at $13,106,062 over the last quarter. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Thermo Fisher Scientific 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.