S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC Purchases 618 Shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC raised its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO - Free Report) by 6.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,626 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 618 shares during the period. Thermo Fisher Scientific makes up about 1.8% of S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC's holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $5,528,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 74.7% during the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 166 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $86,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Rockland Trust Co. increased its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 32,059 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $16,678,000 after acquiring an additional 1,721 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 78.7% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,964 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $3,623,000 after purchasing an additional 3,067 shares during the period. CCLA Investment Management increased its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. CCLA Investment Management now owns 258,571 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $134,498,000 after purchasing an additional 8,985 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Community Trust & Investment Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Community Trust & Investment Co. now owns 33,388 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $17,369,000 after purchasing an additional 714 shares in the last quarter. 89.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $670.00 to $660.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $620.00 to $610.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $675.00 to $660.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. Scotiabank initiated coverage on Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. They set a "sector perform" rating and a $605.00 price target for the company. Finally, Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research report on Monday, October 14th. They set a "buy" rating and a $680.00 price target on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $648.95.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Performance

NYSE TMO traded down $3.29 on Wednesday, reaching $553.70. The stock had a trading volume of 2,255,828 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,065,181. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 1-year low of $493.30 and a 1-year high of $627.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The company has a market cap of $211.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.76. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $529.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $568.13.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The medical research company reported $5.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.25 by $0.03. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a net margin of 14.48% and a return on equity of 17.49%. The business had revenue of $10.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.63 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $5.69 EPS. The business's revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 21.68 EPS for the current year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.28%. Thermo Fisher Scientific's payout ratio is 9.78%.

Thermo Fisher Scientific announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Friday, November 15th that authorizes the company to buyback $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the medical research company to buy up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Thermo Fisher Scientific news, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $530.26, for a total transaction of $5,302,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 111,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $58,960,669.92. The trade was a 8.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 300 shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $560.16, for a total transaction of $168,048.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,663 shares in the company, valued at $9,333,946.08. This trade represents a 1.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 47,150 shares of company stock worth $25,954,465. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

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.