Simplicity Wealth LLC Sells 532 Shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Simplicity Wealth LLC trimmed its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 31.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,146 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 532 shares during the quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $596,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of TMO. Howard Capital Management Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 0.5% in 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 during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 22.1% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,247,838 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $771,876,000 after acquiring an additional 225,568 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC bought a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,091,000. XML Financial LLC raised its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 26.8% in the 3rd quarter. XML Financial LLC now owns 577 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $357,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the period. Finally, Tyler Stone Wealth Management raised its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 267.3% in the 3rd quarter. Tyler Stone Wealth Management now owns 371 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $229,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares during the period. 89.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $516.67, for a total transaction of $5,166,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 115,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $59,506,950.58. This trade represents 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 accessible 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 directly owns 16,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,582,009.17. The trade was a 1.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 20,125 shares of company stock valued at $11,095,799. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on TMO shares. Royal Bank of Canada set a $693.00 price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a 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 report on Friday, December 13th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $650.00 to $570.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $700.00 to $715.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $660.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Thermo Fisher Scientific currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $653.23.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:TMO opened at $526.32 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $198.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.84, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $549.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $561.44. 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) last issued 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 net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 17.51%. Research analysts predict that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 23.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Friday, November 15th that permits the company to buyback $4.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the medical research company to buy up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.33%. This is an increase from Thermo Fisher Scientific’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.41%.

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.