Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ Sells 1,236 Shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ trimmed its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 174,607 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 1,236 shares during the quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $90,593,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Barrett & Company Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Missouri Trust & Investment Co acquired a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. 89.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Price Performance

TMO opened at $512.94 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $193.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $549.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $560.46. 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 posted its quarterly 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, research analysts expect that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 23.28 EPS for the current year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.43 dividend. This is a boost from Thermo Fisher Scientific’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s payout ratio is 10.41%.

Thermo Fisher Scientific declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Friday, November 15th that permits the company to buyback $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the medical research company to reacquire up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on TMO shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $647.00 to $678.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada set a $693.00 price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research note 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 for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. Citigroup dropped their price target 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. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $700.00 to $715.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $653.23.

Insider Activity at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In related news, SVP Michael A. Boxer sold 3,775 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $532.52, for a total value of $2,010,263.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 10,816 shares in the company, valued at $5,759,736.32. This represents a 25.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Stephen Williamson sold 9,825 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 27,296 shares in the company, valued at $15,984,264.64. This represents a 26.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 23,900 shares of company stock valued at $13,106,062 over the last quarter. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.