Meritage Portfolio Management Makes New Investment in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Meritage Portfolio Management purchased a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,686 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $895,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 49.1% during the 3rd quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 82 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the period. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 107.0% during the 4th quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 89 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 4th quarter worth $53,000. Operose Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 250.0% during the 3rd quarter. Operose Advisors LLC now owns 105 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 40.5% during the 3rd quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 111 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. 89.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Up 0.3 %

NYSE:TMO traded up $1.86 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $573.59. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 804,480 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,553,806. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $573.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $529.36. The company has a market capitalization of $218.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.80. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 12 month low of $415.60 and a 12 month high of $603.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.70.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The medical research company reported $5.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.70 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $10.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.14 billion. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a net margin of 14.20% and a return on equity of 18.45%. Equities analysts predict that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 21.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.39 dividend. This is a boost from Thermo Fisher Scientific’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.27%. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s dividend payout ratio is 10.01%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Michael A. Boxer sold 14,566 shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $562.00, for a total transaction of $8,186,092.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 12,901 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,250,362. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Michael A. Boxer sold 14,566 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 12,901 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,250,362. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Debora L. Spar sold 164 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $546.97, for a total transaction of $89,703.08. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 1,207 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $660,192.79. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 50,277 shares of company stock valued at $28,513,384 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $592.00 to $642.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $550.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Raymond James lifted their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $515.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a report on Monday, January 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Thermo Fisher Scientific presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $606.76.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Company 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.