Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) Shares Sold by Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC

Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC decreased its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 5.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 32,654 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 2,036 shares during the period. Thermo Fisher Scientific makes up about 1.4% of Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $17,332,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of TMO. Halpern Financial Inc. grew its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 307.7% in the third quarter. Halpern Financial Inc. now owns 53 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Live Oak Investment Partners acquired a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Tyler Stone Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the second quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO purchased a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the third quarter worth about $38,000. 89.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE TMO opened at $581.21 on Friday. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 12-month low of $415.60 and a 12-month high of $603.82. The company has a market cap of $221.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $565.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $520.22.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The medical research company reported $5.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.64 by $0.03. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a return on equity of 18.78% and a net margin of 13.99%. The company had revenue of $10.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.73 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.40 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 21.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th will be given a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.27%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Thermo Fisher Scientific’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.10%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TMO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. TheStreet raised shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Friday, December 22nd. HSBC assumed coverage on Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research note on Monday, December 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $610.00 price target for the company. Raymond James increased their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $515.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Barclays downgraded Thermo Fisher Scientific from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $475.00 to $555.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research note on Wednesday, December 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $575.00 target price for the company. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Thermo Fisher Scientific has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $599.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $597.98, for a total transaction of $5,979,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 123,816 shares in the company, valued at approximately $74,039,491.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $597.98, for a total value of $5,979,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 123,816 shares in the company, valued at approximately $74,039,491.68. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael A. Boxer sold 14,566 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $562.00, for a total value of $8,186,092.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 12,901 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,250,362. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 50,277 shares of company stock valued at $28,513,384 in the last quarter. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.