Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) Shares Sold by Northcape Capital Pty Ltd

Northcape Capital Pty Ltd cut its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 30.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,693 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 1,594 shares during the period. Thermo Fisher Scientific makes up 0.2% of Northcape Capital Pty Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Northcape Capital Pty Ltd’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $1,960,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of TMO. Halpern Financial Inc. increased its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 307.7% during the third quarter. Halpern Financial Inc. now owns 53 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the second quarter worth $33,000. Live Oak Investment Partners purchased a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Tyler Stone Wealth Management purchased a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the second quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO purchased a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.23% of the company’s stock.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Price Performance

NYSE:TMO traded up $1.19 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $580.56. The company had a trading volume of 289,790 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,605,131. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $564.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $519.80. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a one year low of $415.60 and a one year high of $603.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $221.37 billion, a PE ratio of 37.50, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.80.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The medical research company reported $5.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.64 by $0.03. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a net margin of 13.99% and a return on equity of 18.78%. The firm had revenue of $10.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.73 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.40 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 21.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $555.63, for a total transaction of $5,556,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 49,155 shares in the company, valued at $27,311,992.65. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Thermo Fisher Scientific news, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $555.63, for a total value of $5,556,300.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 49,155 shares in the company, valued at $27,311,992.65. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 5,547 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $550.62, for a total transaction of $3,054,289.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 43,608 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,011,436.96. 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. Company insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TMO has been the subject of several analyst reports. TheStreet upgraded shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research note on Friday, December 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $515.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Citigroup initiated coverage on Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research note on Monday, March 18th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $620.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a report on Wednesday, December 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $575.00 price target for the company. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $599.00.

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.