Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.16 EPS

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) issued its earnings results on Thursday. The medical research company reported $6.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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

Shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific stock traded up $36.71 during trading on Thursday, hitting $604.94. The stock had a trading volume of 1,446,718 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,008,251. The firm has a market cap of $231.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.91, a PEG ratio of 3.82 and a beta of 0.76. Thermo Fisher Scientific has a fifty-two week low of $493.30 and a fifty-two week high of $627.88. The business has a fifty day moving average of $537.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $570.33. 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 company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were given a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.26%. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $632.00 to $622.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $605.00 price target for the company. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $620.00 to $610.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $675.00 to $660.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic began coverage on Thermo Fisher Scientific in a report on Monday, October 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $680.00 price objective on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $648.95.

Insider Transactions at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In other news, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $558.12, for a total transaction of $5,581,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 33,608 shares in the company, valued at $18,757,296.96. The trade was a 22.93 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders sold a total of 34,850 shares of company stock valued at $19,123,197 in the last three months. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Thermo Fisher Scientific announced that its board has approved a share buyback program 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.