Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) Position Lifted by Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC

Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 16.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,234 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the period. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $614,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of TMO. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 89.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TMO has been the subject of a number of research reports. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $650.00 to $570.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $715.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $585.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $665.00 to $620.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $580.00 to $570.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $605.30.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 28th. The stock was 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 now directly owns 23,167 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,960,188.31. This trade represents a 1.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Performance

TMO stock opened at $405.15 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.29. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $390.50 and a fifty-two week high of $627.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $152.94 billion, a PE ratio of 24.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $416.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $491.11.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last released its earnings results 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 analyst estimates of $10.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.11 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 23.28 EPS for the current year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s payout ratio is presently 10.09%.

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.