Becker Capital Management Inc. Sells 125 Shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Becker Capital Management Inc. decreased its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,201 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 125 shares during the quarter. Becker Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $4,270,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 33,249,575 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $17,297,426,000 after buying an additional 196,864 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 9,430,120 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,905,812,000 after acquiring an additional 104,343 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,857,385 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $4,075,540,000 after purchasing an additional 197,442 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 4th quarter valued at about $3,149,754,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 5.7% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,853,133 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,935,377,000 after buying an additional 262,062 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.23% of the company’s stock.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE TMO opened at $427.56 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $161.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.86. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 12-month low of $409.85 and a 12-month high of $627.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $482.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $524.80.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The medical research company reported $5.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.10 by $0.05. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a return on equity of 17.51% and a net margin of 14.78%. The business had revenue of $10.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.23 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.11 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 23.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.40%. 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 10.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $651.00 to $637.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Argus cut their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $620.00 to $470.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $630.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $580.00 to $570.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $647.00 to $678.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $610.27.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Michael A. Boxer sold 3,775 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $5,759,736.32. This represents a 25.87 % 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, CFO Stephen Williamson sold 9,825 shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $585.59, for a total transaction of $5,753,421.75. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 27,296 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,984,264.64. The trade was a 26.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 23,900 shares of company stock valued at $13,106,062. 0.33% 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.