Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) Receives $648.95 Average Price Target from Analysts

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-two brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $655.64.

TMO has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America lowered their price target on 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. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $630.00 to $620.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays dropped their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $620.00 to $610.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 9,000 shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $552.86, for a total transaction of $4,975,740.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,076,178.88. The trade was a 38.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 29,000 shares of company stock valued at $15,859,540 over the last 90 days. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Thermo Fisher Scientific

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the third quarter worth $27,000. Barrett & Company Inc. acquired a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Missouri Trust & Investment Co acquired a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.23% of the company’s stock.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:TMO opened at $598.40 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $539.66 and its 200-day moving average is $570.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $228.89 billion, a PE ratio of 37.52, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.76. Thermo Fisher Scientific has a 1-year low of $493.30 and a 1-year high of $627.88.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $6.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.94 by $0.16. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a net margin of 14.48% and a return on equity of 17.49%. Sell-side analysts predict that Thermo Fisher Scientific will post 21.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Announces Dividend

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 declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Friday, November 15th that allows the company to buyback $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the medical research company to purchase up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s management 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.