Heritage Trust Co Acquires New Stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Heritage Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,176 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $612,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Howard Capital Management Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 0.5% during the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 54,575 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $33,759,000 after purchasing an additional 286 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 22.1% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,247,838 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $771,876,000 after buying an additional 225,568 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp raised its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 113,347 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $70,113,000 after buying an additional 4,584 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the third quarter worth $638,000. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 1.7% during the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 11,366 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $7,031,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.23% of the company's stock.

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Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Performance

Shares of TMO stock traded down $8.42 on Tuesday, reaching $440.91. The stock had a trading volume of 2,545,854 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,707,522. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.66. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 1 year low of $409.85 and a 1 year high of $627.88. The stock has a market cap of $166.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $507.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $537.62.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $6.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.94 by $0.16. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 17.51%. Equities research analysts expect that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 23.28 EPS for the current year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This is a positive change from Thermo Fisher Scientific's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.39%. Thermo Fisher Scientific's dividend payout ratio is currently 10.41%.

Insider Activity at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In other news, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $516.67, for a total transaction of $5,166,700.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 115,174 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,506,950.58. This represents a 7.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Stephen Williamson sold 9,825 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $585.59, for a total value of $5,753,421.75. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 27,296 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,984,264.64. This trade represents a 26.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 23,900 shares of company stock valued at $13,106,062. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on TMO shares. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $650.00 to $570.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $620.00 to $475.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $647.00 to $678.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $667.00 price objective (up previously from $650.00) on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $700.00 to $715.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $647.43.

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.