Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) CEO Sells $2,562,000.00 in Stock

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) CEO Marc Casper sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $512.40, for a total transaction of $2,562,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 123,925 shares in the company, valued at $63,499,170. The trade was a 3.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:TMO opened at $501.72 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.89, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $186.38 billion, a PE ratio of 28.28, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.96. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $567.28 and a 200-day moving average of $548.67. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 12 month low of $385.46 and a 12 month high of $643.99.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The medical research company reported $6.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.45 by $0.12. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a net margin of 15.05% and a return on equity of 16.92%. The business had revenue of $12.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.95 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $6.10 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 23.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a $0.47 dividend. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. This is a boost from Thermo Fisher Scientific’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s payout ratio is 9.70%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Thermo Fisher Scientific

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Union Savings Bank acquired a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 4th quarter worth about $856,000. Bayban acquired a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the fourth quarter valued at about $93,000. Pure Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,407 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $815,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the period. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group boosted its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 2,136 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,238,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SHP Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $102,000. 89.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on TMO. Wells Fargo & Company set a $683.00 target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a report on Friday, January 30th. HSBC upgraded shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Robert W. Baird set a $653.00 target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $583.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Thermo Fisher Scientific in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $685.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $633.68.

About Thermo Fisher Scientific

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE: TMO) is a global provider of scientific instrumentation, reagents and consumables, software, and services that support research, clinical, and industrial laboratories. The company supplies analytical instruments and laboratory equipment, life sciences reagents and kits, specialty diagnostics, and a broad range of consumables used by researchers, clinicians, and manufacturers. Its offerings also include laboratory information management and data-analysis software, as well as service solutions such as instrument maintenance, validation, and logistics that help customers run complex workflows efficiently.

Thermo Fisher operates through multiple business areas that broadly cover life sciences solutions, analytical instruments, specialty diagnostics, and laboratory products and biopharma services, including contract development and manufacturing for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.