Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) is Atalan Capital Partners LP's 9th Largest Position

Atalan Capital Partners LP lessened its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO - Free Report) by 38.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 110,000 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 69,000 shares during the quarter. Thermo Fisher Scientific comprises approximately 5.7% of Atalan Capital Partners LP's holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Atalan Capital Partners LP's holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $57,225,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 33,249,575 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $17,297,426,000 after acquiring an additional 196,864 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 9,430,120 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $4,905,812,000 after buying an additional 104,343 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,857,385 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $4,075,540,000 after acquiring an additional 197,442 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the fourth quarter worth $3,149,754,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 5.7% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,853,133 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $2,935,377,000 after purchasing an additional 262,062 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.23% of the company's stock.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Performance

Shares of TMO stock traded down $14.91 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $407.36. The stock had a trading volume of 3,874,201 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,784,510. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $473.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $519.36. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The firm has a market cap of $153.78 billion, a PE ratio of 24.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.82. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a one year low of $406.72 and a one year high of $627.88.

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

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.42%. This is an increase from Thermo Fisher Scientific's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Thermo Fisher Scientific's dividend payout ratio is presently 10.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on TMO shares. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $650.00 to $570.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $603.00 to $573.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Scotiabank cut their price objective 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. Barclays decreased their price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $620.00 to $475.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Argus decreased their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $620.00 to $470.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $607.43.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $516.67, for a total value of $5,166,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 115,174 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,506,950.58. The trade was a 7.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $429.93, for a total value of $128,979.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,167 shares in the company, valued at $9,960,188.31. This trade represents a 1.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 14,075 shares of company stock worth $7,305,942 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Company 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.