Meridian Wealth Partners LLC Lowers Stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Meridian Wealth Partners LLC lowered its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 7.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 450 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 35 shares during the quarter. Meridian Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $239,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 49.1% in the 3rd quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 82 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 107.0% in the fourth quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 89 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Operose Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 250.0% in the third quarter. Operose Advisors LLC now owns 105 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the fourth quarter worth approximately $53,000. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 40.5% during the 3rd quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 111 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.23% of the company’s stock.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific stock traded up $1.87 on Friday, hitting $573.60. 1,438,184 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,317,052. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 52-week low of $415.60 and a 52-week high of $603.82. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The stock has a market cap of $218.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.79, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.80. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $573.60 and its 200 day moving average is $530.14.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The medical research company reported $5.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.70 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $10.35 billion during 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 21.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

TMO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Raymond James lifted their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $515.00 to $605.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $592.00 to $642.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $590.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $550.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $606.76.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Debora L. Spar sold 164 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $546.97, for a total value of $89,703.08. Following the sale, the director now owns 1,207 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $660,192.79. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Debora L. Spar sold 164 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $546.97, for a total value of $89,703.08. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 1,207 shares in the company, valued at approximately $660,192.79. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Michael A. Boxer sold 14,566 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $562.00, for a total value of $8,186,092.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 12,901 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,250,362. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 50,277 shares of company stock worth $28,513,384. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by 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.