Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC Boosts Stock Position in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC increased its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO - Free Report) by 14.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,569 shares of the medical research company's stock after buying an additional 1,544 shares during the quarter. Thermo Fisher Scientific accounts for 1.1% of Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC's holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $6,672,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 49.1% during the 3rd quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 82 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the period. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 107.0% during the fourth quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 89 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the fourth quarter worth $51,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 4th quarter valued at $53,000. Finally, Operose Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. 89.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on TMO. HSBC raised their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $660.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Citigroup started coverage on Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research note on Monday, March 18th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $620.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Raymond James raised their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $515.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $550.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $607.35.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Performance

Thermo Fisher Scientific stock traded up $15.42 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $593.35. 1,328,783 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,444,694. The business's 50-day moving average is $575.93 and its 200-day moving average is $535.69. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 12-month low of $415.60 and a 12-month high of $603.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $226.49 billion, a PE ratio of 38.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.80.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO - Get Free Report) last released 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 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 21.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.26%. This is a boost from Thermo Fisher Scientific's previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Thermo Fisher Scientific's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.01%.

Insider Activity at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In related news, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $597.98, for a total transaction of $5,979,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 123,816 shares of the company's stock, valued at $74,039,491.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 5,547 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $550.62, for a total transaction of $3,054,289.14. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 43,608 shares in the company, valued at $24,011,436.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $597.98, for a total value of $5,979,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 123,816 shares of the company's stock, valued at $74,039,491.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 37,711 shares of company stock valued at $21,630,972. Corporate insiders own 0.34% 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.