YHB Investment Advisors Inc. Raises Position in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

YHB Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 46,450 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the quarter. Thermo Fisher Scientific makes up about 2.0% of YHB Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 11th largest holding. YHB Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $24,165,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Missouri Trust & Investment Co purchased a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 3rd quarter valued at $50,000. 89.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Price Performance

Shares of TMO opened at $583.43 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $533.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $569.81. The stock has a market cap of $223.16 billion, a PE ratio of 36.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.82 and a beta of 0.76. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 1-year low of $493.30 and a 1-year high of $627.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.26.

Thermo Fisher Scientific declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Friday, November 15th that authorizes the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the medical research company to reacquire up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were given a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.27%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.78%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $558.12, for a total value of $5,581,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 33,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,757,296.96. This represents a 22.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 34,850 shares of company stock valued at $19,123,197. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on TMO shares. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $630.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $656.00 to $686.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $767.00 to $718.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $620.00 to $610.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $648.95.

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.