North Star Asset Management Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

North Star Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO - Free Report) by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 55,625 shares of the medical research company's stock after buying an additional 1,581 shares during the quarter. Thermo Fisher Scientific comprises about 1.3% of North Star Asset Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. North Star Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $28,938,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Barrett & Company Inc. purchased a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Cassady Schiller Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 89.2% during the 4th quarter. Cassady Schiller Wealth Management LLC now owns 70 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. 89.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $650.00 to $570.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Scotiabank dropped their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $650.00 to $605.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $610.00 target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $580.00 to $570.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Thermo Fisher Scientific has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $607.43.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Thermo Fisher Scientific news, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $516.67, for a total transaction of $5,166,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 115,174 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $59,506,950.58. This trade represents a 7.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Michael A. Boxer sold 3,775 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 10,816 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,759,736.32. The trade was a 25.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 14,075 shares of company stock worth $7,305,942 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Performance

Shares of TMO stock traded down $1.67 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $401.88. 1,929,563 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,872,983. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.29. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 1 year low of $390.50 and a 1 year high of $627.88. The company has a market cap of $151.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.82. The company's 50 day moving average is $437.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $502.70.

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

Thermo Fisher Scientific Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Thermo Fisher Scientific's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.09%.

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.