ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. Buys 2,618 Shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO - Free Report) by 3.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 77,770 shares of the medical research company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,618 shares during the period. Thermo Fisher Scientific accounts for 1.6% of ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.'s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $38,698,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. St. James Investment Company LLC bought a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 1st quarter valued at about $383,000. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 2.6% in the first quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,443 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $719,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. R.H. Investment Group LLC grew its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. R.H. Investment Group LLC now owns 9,064 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $4,510,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the period. Novem Group raised its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 13.7% during the 1st quarter. Novem Group now owns 647 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $322,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA boosted its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 7.1% in the 1st quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 4,883 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $2,430,000 after purchasing an additional 324 shares during the last quarter. 89.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of TMO traded up $0.49 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $428.25. The stock had a trading volume of 1,359,321 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,974,470. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.38. The firm has a market cap of $161.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $409.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $479.39. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a twelve month low of $385.46 and a twelve month high of $627.88.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The medical research company reported $5.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.10 by $0.05. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a return on equity of 17.15% and a net margin of 15.19%. The firm had revenue of $10.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $5.11 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 23.28 EPS 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.40%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Thermo Fisher Scientific's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays dropped their price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $475.00 to $450.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target 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. Scotiabank reduced 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 note on Friday, April 25th. Argus lowered their target price on shares of 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $665.00 to $620.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $604.05.

Insider Transactions at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In other news, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 23,167 shares in the company, valued at $9,960,188.31. This represents a 1.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 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.