Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) Position Lessened by Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp cut its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 4.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 255,642 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 11,427 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $132,993,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 20,629 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $10,732,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the period. Baxter Bros Inc. increased its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Baxter Bros Inc. now owns 28,462 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $14,807,000 after acquiring an additional 432 shares during the period. Bay Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 4th quarter valued at $346,000. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 110,251 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $57,356,000 after purchasing an additional 7,986 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zions Bancorporation N.A. increased its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 12.3% during the fourth quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 12,862 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $6,691,000 after purchasing an additional 1,407 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.23% of the company’s stock.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Performance

Shares of TMO stock opened at $520.25 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $545.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $554.91. The company has a market capitalization of $196.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 1-year low of $493.30 and a 1-year 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 for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 predict that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 23.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Thermo Fisher Scientific’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.33%. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s dividend payout ratio is 10.41%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada set a $693.00 target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of 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. StockNews.com upgraded Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $667.00 price objective (up previously from $650.00) on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $647.00 to $678.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $653.23.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Thermo Fisher Scientific news, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $516.67, for a total value of $5,166,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 115,174 shares in the company, valued at $59,506,950.58. The trade was a 7.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 23,900 shares of company stock worth $13,106,062. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.