Merit Financial Group LLC Has $2.01 Million Holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Merit Financial Group LLC lessened its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 43.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,794 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 2,920 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $2,014,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. raised its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 12.6% during the fourth quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 11,459 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $6,082,000 after acquiring an additional 1,279 shares in the last quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 9.7% during the fourth quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 816 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $433,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Accretive Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. Accretive Wealth Partners LLC now owns 640 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $340,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 2,324 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,233,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors L.P. raised its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 333,098 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $176,805,000 after acquiring an additional 4,214 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on TMO. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $575.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $621.00 to $620.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Citigroup began coverage on Thermo Fisher Scientific in a report on Monday, March 18th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $620.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $592.00 to $642.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $607.35.

Insider Transactions at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In other news, Director Debora L. Spar sold 164 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $546.97, for a total transaction of $89,703.08. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,207 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $660,192.79. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Michael A. Boxer sold 14,566 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was 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 approximately $7,250,362. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Debora L. Spar sold 164 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $546.97, for a total value 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 have sold 62,277 shares of company stock valued at $35,373,364 over the last ninety days. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Price Performance

Thermo Fisher Scientific stock opened at $572.38 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $218.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.71, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.80. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 52-week low of $415.60 and a 52-week high of $603.82. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $575.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $532.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 1.70.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The medical research company reported $5.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.70 by $0.41. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a return on equity of 18.45% and a net margin of 14.20%. The firm had revenue of $10.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.14 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 21.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

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

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.