Aprio Wealth Management LLC Acquires 155 Shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Aprio Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 17.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,022 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $532,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of TMO. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the third quarter worth $27,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the third quarter valued at about $50,000. HWG Holdings LP bought a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 2nd quarter worth about $50,000. Finally, Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 3rd quarter valued at about $65,000. 89.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on TMO. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $656.00 to $686.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $670.00 to $647.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. 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 note on Friday, December 13th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $767.00 to $718.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic began coverage on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research note on Monday, October 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $680.00 price objective on the stock. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $648.95.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Michael A. Boxer sold 2,000 shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $560.16, for a total value of $1,120,320.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 12,736 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,134,197.76. This trade represents a 13.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $530.26, for a total value of $5,302,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 111,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $58,960,669.92. This trade represents a 8.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 47,150 shares of company stock worth $25,954,465. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Price Performance

Shares of TMO opened at $555.91 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $529.92 and its 200-day moving average is $568.10. 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 $212.64 billion, a PE ratio of 34.85, a PEG ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.76. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $493.30 and a fifty-two week high of $627.88.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The medical research company reported $5.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 company 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 21.68 EPS for the current year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid 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 0.28%. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.78%.

Thermo Fisher Scientific announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Friday, November 15th that authorizes the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the medical research company to buy up to 2% 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.

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.