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

Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 3.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 14,446 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $7,515,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of TMO. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Missouri Trust & Investment Co acquired a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 4th quarter worth about $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.23% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $530.26, for a total value of $5,302,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 111,192 shares in the company, valued at $58,960,669.92. This represents a 8.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 44,850 shares of company stock worth $24,666,097. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Stephens initiated coverage on Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. They set an “overweight” rating and a $680.00 target price on the stock. Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a report on Monday, December 23rd. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $605.00 target price for the company. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $632.00 to $622.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com raised Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $630.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $648.95.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Price Performance

Shares of TMO opened at $575.21 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $220.02 billion, a PE ratio of 36.06, a P/E/G ratio of 3.82 and a beta of 0.76. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $533.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $569.32. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a twelve month low of $493.30 and a twelve month high of $627.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The medical research company reported $5.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.25 by $0.03. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a return on equity of 17.49% and a net margin of 14.48%. The firm had revenue of $10.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.63 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $5.69 earnings per share. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 21.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Friday, November 15th that permits the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the medical research company to reacquire up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.78%.

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.