Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. $TMO Shares Acquired by Argent Trust Co

Argent Trust Co grew its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 5.5% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 21,571 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 1,125 shares during the period. Argent Trust Co’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $10,462,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of TMO. Financial Management Network Inc. grew its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 3.7% in the third quarter. Financial Management Network Inc. now owns 511 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $248,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC grew its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 8.8% during the 3rd quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 236 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $114,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. White Pine Capital LLC increased its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. White Pine Capital LLC now owns 611 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $296,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the period. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 35.1% in the 3rd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 77 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hopwood Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 9.1% during the third quarter. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. now owns 239 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $116,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. 89.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Performance

Shares of TMO stock opened at $520.80 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 1.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The business has a 50 day moving average of $574.24 and a two-hundred day moving average of $547.46. The company has a market cap of $195.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.36, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.93. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 52 week low of $385.46 and a 52 week high of $643.99.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The medical research company reported $6.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.45 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $12.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.95 billion. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a return on equity of 16.92% and a net margin of 15.05%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $6.10 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 23.28 EPS for the current year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a $0.47 dividend. This is a positive change from Thermo Fisher Scientific’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s payout ratio is currently 9.70%.

Thermo Fisher Scientific declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, November 6th that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the medical research company to repurchase up to 2.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on TMO. KeyCorp upgraded Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $750.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Sunday, December 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Robert W. Baird set a $653.00 price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a report on Friday, January 30th. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $650.00 price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Thermo Fisher Scientific presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $633.68.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Frederick M. Lowery sold 6,912 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $581.94, for a total transaction of $4,022,369.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 14,367 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,360,731.98. The trade was a 32.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Michel Lagarde sold 22,046 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $563.56, for a total value of $12,424,243.76. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 84,117 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,404,976.52. This represents a 20.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 98,271 shares of company stock valued at $56,920,935. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Company Profile

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE: TMO) is a global provider of scientific instrumentation, reagents and consumables, software, and services that support research, clinical, and industrial laboratories. The company supplies analytical instruments and laboratory equipment, life sciences reagents and kits, specialty diagnostics, and a broad range of consumables used by researchers, clinicians, and manufacturers. Its offerings also include laboratory information management and data-analysis software, as well as service solutions such as instrument maintenance, validation, and logistics that help customers run complex workflows efficiently.

Thermo Fisher operates through multiple business areas that broadly cover life sciences solutions, analytical instruments, specialty diagnostics, and laboratory products and biopharma services, including contract development and manufacturing for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.