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

North Star Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO - Free Report) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. 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 makes up 1.3% of North Star Asset Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest 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 large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Barrett & Company Inc. purchased a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Cassady Schiller Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 89.2% during the fourth quarter. Cassady Schiller Wealth Management LLC now owns 70 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.23% of the company's stock.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Up 2.4%

Shares of NYSE:TMO traded up $9.59 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $403.25. The stock had a trading volume of 2,705,443 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,872,755. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 1 year low of $390.50 and a 1 year high of $627.88. The firm's 50 day moving average is $440.05 and its 200-day moving average is $503.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $152.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.82.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 17.51%. The company had revenue of $10.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.11 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 23.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $429.93, for a total transaction of $128,979.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 23,167 shares in the company, valued at $9,960,188.31. This represents a 1.28% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 115,174 shares of the company's stock, valued at $59,506,950.58. This trade represents a 7.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 14,075 shares of company stock worth $7,305,942. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TMO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $603.00 to $573.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Citigroup cut their price objective 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. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $585.00 to $500.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $651.00 to $637.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $580.00 to $570.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Thermo Fisher Scientific has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $607.43.

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.