Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Purchases 5,082 Shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 5.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 104,785 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,082 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $55,619,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. WCM Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 989,837 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $527,524,000 after buying an additional 2,928 shares during the period. Phoenix Holdings Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 21.4% during the third quarter. Phoenix Holdings Ltd. now owns 9,366 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,750,000 after purchasing an additional 1,654 shares in the last quarter. DMC Group LLC raised its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 16.5% in the third quarter. DMC Group LLC now owns 592 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $300,000 after buying an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. S. R. Schill & Associates boosted its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 106.3% during the 4th quarter. S. R. Schill & Associates now owns 1,537 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $816,000 after acquiring an additional 792 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Check Capital Management Inc. CA bought a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 3rd quarter worth $219,000. 89.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:TMO traded up $1.13 during trading on Friday, hitting $572.38. 1,749,670 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,409,187. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $575.24 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $532.25. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 52-week low of $415.60 and a 52-week high of $603.82. The company has a market cap of $218.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The medical research company reported $5.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.70 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $10.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.14 billion. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a net margin of 14.20% and a return on equity of 18.45%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 21.64 EPS for the current year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.27%. This is a boost from Thermo Fisher Scientific’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s payout ratio is currently 10.01%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on TMO shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a report on Monday, January 8th. Barclays increased their price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $590.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $621.00 to $620.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $575.00 to $610.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $607.35.

Insider Activity at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In other Thermo Fisher Scientific news, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $27,311,992.65. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Thermo Fisher Scientific news, SVP Michael A. Boxer sold 14,566 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $562.00, for a total value of $8,186,092.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 12,901 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,250,362. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 49,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,311,992.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 62,277 shares of company stock valued at $35,373,364. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.