Brokerages Set Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) Price Target at $650.05

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-two research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $650.05.

TMO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $620.00 to $610.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on Thermo Fisher Scientific in a report on Monday, October 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $680.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $670.00 to $660.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Bernstein Bank raised their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $565.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $605.00 price objective on the stock.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Trading Up 0.8 %

NYSE:TMO opened at $536.47 on Thursday. Thermo Fisher Scientific has a 12 month low of $493.30 and a 12 month high of $627.88. The business’s 50-day moving average is $530.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $568.53. 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 $205.20 billion, a PE ratio of 33.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.76.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The medical research company reported $5.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.25 by $0.03. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a net margin of 14.48% and a return on equity of 17.49%. The company had revenue of $10.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.63 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.69 earnings per share. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Thermo Fisher Scientific will post 21.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Announces Dividend

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

Thermo Fisher Scientific announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Friday, November 15th that permits the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the medical research company to reacquire up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $554.29, for a total value of $5,542,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 121,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $67,175,513.68. This represents a 7.62 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Michael A. Boxer sold 2,000 shares of the firm’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 $1,120,320.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 12,736 shares in the company, valued at $7,134,197.76. This represents a 13.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 47,150 shares of company stock valued at $25,954,465. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Thermo Fisher Scientific

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC raised its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC now owns 9,461 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $4,922,000 after acquiring an additional 555 shares in the last quarter. Doliver Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Doliver Advisors LP now owns 2,803 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,458,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Kings Path Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 13.1% during the fourth quarter. Kings Path Partners LLC now owns 2,637 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,372,000 after buying an additional 306 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 23.6% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 55,452 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $28,868,000 after buying an additional 10,606 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Everence Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 18,519 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $9,634,000 after acquiring an additional 730 shares during the last quarter. 89.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.