Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) Shares Sold by ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. decreased its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 68,825 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 425 shares during the period. Thermo Fisher Scientific makes up about 1.9% of ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $36,532,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the second quarter valued at $33,000. Live Oak Investment Partners acquired a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Tyler Stone Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the period. Finally, Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC grew its position in 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 buying an additional 46 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

TMO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective 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. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $575.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. HSBC upped their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $630.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a report on Monday, January 8th. Finally, Barclays downgraded Thermo Fisher Scientific from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $475.00 to $555.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $604.69.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE TMO traded up $3.27 on Friday, reaching $544.79. The stock had a trading volume of 1,738,319 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,549,865. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 12-month low of $415.60 and a 12-month high of $603.82. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $571.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $527.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $207.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The medical research company reported $5.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.64 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $10.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.73 billion. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a return on equity of 18.78% and a net margin of 13.99%. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s revenue was down 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.40 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 21.52 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This is an increase from Thermo Fisher Scientific’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.29%. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.10%.

Insider Transactions at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In related news, SVP Michael A. Boxer sold 14,566 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $562.00, for a total value of $8,186,092.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 12,901 shares in the company, valued at $7,250,362. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Michael A. Boxer sold 14,566 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $562.00, for a total value of $8,186,092.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 12,901 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,250,362. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $555.63, for a total transaction of $5,556,300.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 49,155 shares in the company, valued at $27,311,992.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 50,277 shares of company stock worth $28,513,384 over the last 90 days. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Thermo Fisher Scientific

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.