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

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-two analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $658.00.

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $605.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $647.00 to $678.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $630.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $530.26, for a total transaction of $5,302,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 111,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $58,960,669.92. This represents a 8.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $585.59, for a total value of $175,677.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,582,009.17. The trade was a 1.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 20,125 shares of company stock valued at $11,231,699. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Thermo Fisher Scientific

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in TMO. Stonegate Investment Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 6,788 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,531,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. Semus Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Semus Wealth Partners LLC now owns 471 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $245,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the period. Angeles Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,921 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,425,000 after buying an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Bangor Savings Bank raised its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 334 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $174,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC lifted its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC now owns 7,463 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,882,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.23% of the company’s stock.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Price Performance

NYSE TMO opened at $538.03 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $205.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.55, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.77. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $548.36 and a 200 day moving average of $568.15. Thermo Fisher Scientific has a one year low of $493.30 and a one year high of $627.88. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $6.10 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Thermo Fisher Scientific will post 23.28 EPS for the current year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Friday, November 15th that permits the company to buyback $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the medical research company to buy up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 0.32%. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.44%.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Company Profile

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.