Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-one research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $593.00.

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays increased their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $450.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $553.00 to $567.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $500.00 to $480.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, August 10th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $651.00 to $637.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Price Performance

NYSE:TMO opened at $485.62 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $433.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $461.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $183.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.74. Thermo Fisher Scientific has a 12-month low of $385.46 and a 12-month high of $627.88.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $5.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.22 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $10.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.68 billion. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a return on equity of 16.82% and a net margin of 15.24%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.37 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Thermo Fisher Scientific will post 23.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $479.98, for a total transaction of $191,992.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 22,367 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,735,712.66. This trade represents a 1.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $454.45, for a total value of $3,635,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 115,174 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,340,824.30. This trade represents a 6.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 18,400 shares of company stock worth $8,345,792. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Thermo Fisher Scientific

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 137.5% during the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 57 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the period. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC acquired a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Keystone Global Partners LLC acquired a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. 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.