Merit Financial Group LLC Has $5.85 Million Stock Position in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO - Free Report) by 19.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,746 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,895 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $5,845,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in TMO. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 33,249,575 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $17,297,426,000 after buying an additional 196,864 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 9,430,120 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $4,905,812,000 after acquiring an additional 104,343 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,857,385 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $4,075,540,000 after buying an additional 197,442 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the fourth quarter valued at about $3,149,754,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 13.2% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,910,015 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $2,034,107,000 after acquiring an additional 455,004 shares during the last quarter. 89.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $429.93, for a total value of $128,979.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 23,167 shares in the company, valued at $9,960,188.31. This trade represents a 1.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael A. Boxer sold 3,775 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was 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 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. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Down 1.4%

Thermo Fisher Scientific stock traded down $5.78 during trading on Thursday, reaching $397.88. 2,502,299 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,898,315. The company's 50-day moving average is $424.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $497.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.66. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 52-week low of $390.50 and a 52-week high of $627.88. The firm has a market cap of $150.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.07, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.82.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The medical research company reported $5.15 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $10.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.11 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 23.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $610.00 price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Evercore ISI reduced 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 note on Thursday, April 24th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $620.00 to $475.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $665.00 to $620.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Argus cut their price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $620.00 to $470.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Thermo Fisher Scientific currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $605.30.

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.