Millstone Evans Group LLC Takes Position in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,881 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,499,000. Thermo Fisher Scientific comprises approximately 1.0% of Millstone Evans Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 18th largest position.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in TMO. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 671 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $349,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. One Charles Private Wealth Services LLC raised its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. One Charles Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 499 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $260,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 4th quarter valued at about $60,000. Ballast Advisors LLC increased its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 10.5% during the fourth quarter. Ballast Advisors LLC now owns 1,923 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,000,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 40,587 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $21,114,000 after purchasing an additional 1,785 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.23% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

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

Thermo Fisher Scientific Trading Down 0.1 %

NYSE:TMO opened at $518.04 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $546.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $556.26. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a one year low of $493.30 and a one year high of $627.88. The firm has a market cap of $195.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.79. 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 (NYSE:TMO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $6.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.94 by $0.16. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a return on equity of 17.51% and a net margin of 14.78%. Equities analysts anticipate that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 23.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Thermo Fisher Scientific’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.33%. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s payout ratio is currently 10.41%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TMO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Bank of America cut their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $675.00 to $660.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $650.00 to $570.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $667.00 price objective (up from $650.00) on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $647.00 to $678.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $653.23.

About Thermo Fisher Scientific

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.