Avestar Capital LLC Buys 214 Shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Avestar Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 7.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,198 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 214 shares during the period. Avestar Capital LLC’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $1,979,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 19.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,877,459 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,872,761,000 after purchasing an additional 1,294,453 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 2.6% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,636,558 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,630,896,000 after buying an additional 65,586 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 32.2% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,481,257 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,372,157,000 after acquiring an additional 604,895 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,443,937 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,511,746,000 after acquiring an additional 61,017 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,740,482 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $962,482,000 after acquiring an additional 20,075 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.23% of the company’s stock.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Up 0.2 %

NYSE:TMO opened at $514.05 on Tuesday. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 1-year low of $480.57 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 firm has a market capitalization of $196.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.23, a PEG ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.79. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $573.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $579.75.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The medical research company reported $5.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.25 by $0.03. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a return on equity of 17.49% and a net margin of 14.48%. The firm had revenue of $10.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.63 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $5.69 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 21.67 EPS for the current year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Friday, November 15th that permits the company to buyback $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the medical research company to buy up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.30%. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.78%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $560.16, for a total value of $168,048.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,663 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,333,946.08. This trade represents a 1.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $554.29, for a total value of $5,542,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 121,192 shares in the company, valued at $67,175,513.68. This trade represents a 7.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 37,150 shares of company stock worth $20,651,865 over the last three months. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on TMO shares. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $632.00 to $622.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $670.00 to $660.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $680.00 to $665.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Stephens started coverage on Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $680.00 price objective for the company. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $656.00 to $686.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Thermo Fisher Scientific presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $649.33.

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.