Congress Asset Management Co. Buys 59,093 Shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. $TMO

Congress Asset Management Co. grew its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 39.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 208,978 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 59,093 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co.’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $121,092,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of TMO. Lombard Odier Asset Management Switzerland SA increased its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 8.4% in the 2nd quarter. Lombard Odier Asset Management Switzerland SA now owns 14,490 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $5,875,000 after acquiring an additional 1,128 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the third quarter valued at about $41,393,000. Weaver Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the third quarter worth about $506,000. VELA Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 65.5% in the third quarter. VELA Investment Management LLC now owns 9,305 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $4,513,000 after purchasing an additional 3,683 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 29.4% during the 3rd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 276,545 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $134,130,000 after buying an additional 62,790 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.23% of the company’s stock.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Trading Up 0.8%

Thermo Fisher Scientific stock opened at $478.29 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a current ratio of 1.89. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $385.46 and a fifty-two week high of $643.99. The stock has a market cap of $177.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.96, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.96. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $540.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $548.27.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The medical research company reported $6.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.45 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $12.22 billion during 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 quarterly revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $6.10 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 23.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.47 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This is a positive change from Thermo Fisher Scientific’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s payout ratio is presently 10.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $541.20, for a total value of $216,480.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 20,752 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,230,982.40. This trade represents a 1.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $512.40, for a total transaction of $2,562,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 123,925 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $63,499,170. This represents a 3.88% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $685.00 price objective for the company. TD Cowen dropped their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $696.00 to $683.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Barclays lifted their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $656.00 to $670.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. Finally, Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $650.00 target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research note on Monday, January 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $633.68.

About Thermo Fisher Scientific

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.