Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-two brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, sixteen have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $650.05.

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $630.00 to $620.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $632.00 to $622.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Bank of America reduced their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $675.00 to $660.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 13th. Wells Fargo & Company cut 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 report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $605.00 price target for the company.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Trading Down 0.1 %

TMO stock opened at $545.00 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $530.24 and its 200 day moving average is $568.23. Thermo Fisher Scientific has a 12-month low of $493.30 and a 12-month high of $627.88. The stock has a market cap of $208.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.17, a PEG ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The medical research company reported $5.28 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $10.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.63 billion. During the same period in the previous 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. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Thermo Fisher Scientific will post 21.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Friday, November 15th that authorizes the company to buyback $4.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the medical research company to repurchase up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.29%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Thermo Fisher Scientific news, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $560.16, for a total transaction of $168,048.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,663 shares in the company, valued at $9,333,946.08. The trade was a 1.77 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $554.29, for a total transaction of $5,542,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 121,192 shares in the company, valued at $67,175,513.68. The trade was a 7.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 47,150 shares of company stock worth $25,954,465 in the last quarter. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Thermo Fisher Scientific

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in TMO. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the third quarter valued at $50,000. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the second quarter worth about $50,000. Finally, Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America purchased a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 3rd quarter valued at about $65,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.23% of the company’s stock.

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.