Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) Issues Earnings Results

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The medical research company reported $6.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.94 by $0.16, Zacks reports. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a return on equity of 17.49% and a net margin of 14.48%.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Price Performance

Thermo Fisher Scientific stock traded up $36.71 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $604.94. 1,446,718 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,008,251. The firm has a market cap of $231.39 billion, a PE ratio of 37.91, a PEG ratio of 3.82 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $537.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $570.33. Thermo Fisher Scientific has a 12 month low of $493.30 and a 12 month high of $627.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.26.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.78%.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on TMO. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $767.00 to $718.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $670.00 to $647.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a report on Monday, December 23rd. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $605.00 price objective on the stock. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $656.00 to $686.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Redburn Atlantic began coverage on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research report on Monday, October 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $680.00 price objective for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Thermo Fisher Scientific currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $648.95.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Thermo Fisher Scientific news, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 5,850 shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $557.89, for a total value of $3,263,656.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 121,192 shares in the company, valued at $67,611,804.88. The trade was a 4.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders have sold 34,850 shares of company stock worth $19,123,197 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.34% 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.