Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) Receives $658.00 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-two research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $656.86.

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on TMO shares. Scotiabank upped their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $605.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America decreased their price objective 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. UBS Group upped their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $700.00 to $715.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $647.00 to $678.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $667.00 target price (up from $650.00) on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a report on Monday, February 3rd.

Insider Buying and Selling at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In other news, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 111,192 shares in the company, valued at $58,960,669.92. This represents a 8.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Stephen Williamson sold 9,825 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $585.59, for a total transaction of $5,753,421.75. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 27,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,984,264.64. This trade represents a 26.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 20,125 shares of company stock worth $11,231,699. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Thermo Fisher Scientific

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Barrett & Company Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Institutional investors own 89.23% of the company’s stock.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Price Performance

NYSE:TMO opened at $532.55 on Friday. Thermo Fisher Scientific has a 12 month low of $493.30 and a 12 month high of $627.88. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $548.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $567.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The firm has a market cap of $203.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.77.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $6.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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, analysts expect that Thermo Fisher Scientific will post 23.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.32%. This is a positive change from Thermo Fisher Scientific’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.41%.

Thermo Fisher Scientific announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Friday, November 15th that authorizes the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the medical research company to reacquire up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.