Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) Upgraded to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Tuesday morning.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $675.00 to $660.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. Scotiabank initiated coverage on Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $605.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $650.00 to $670.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $630.00 to $620.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. 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 equities research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $648.95.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Up 0.4 %

TMO stock opened at $557.49 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $529.85 and a 200-day moving average of $568.13. Thermo Fisher Scientific has a fifty-two week low of $493.30 and a fifty-two week high of $627.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $213.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.95, a P/E/G ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.76. 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 (NYSE:TMO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The medical research company reported $5.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.25 by $0.03. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a net margin of 14.48% and a return on equity of 17.49%. The company had revenue of $10.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.63 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.69 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Thermo Fisher Scientific will post 21.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Thermo Fisher Scientific Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.28%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s payout ratio is 9.78%.

Insider Activity at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In related news, SVP Michael A. Boxer sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $560.16, for a total transaction of $1,120,320.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 12,736 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,134,197.76. This represents a 13.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $530.26, for a total value of $5,302,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 111,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $58,960,669.92. This represents a 8.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 47,150 shares of company stock worth $25,954,465. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. RMR Wealth Builders grew its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 15.7% during the fourth quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 2,427 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,263,000 after buying an additional 329 shares in the last quarter. Essex Savings Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Essex Savings Bank now owns 1,748 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $909,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. ERn Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. ERn Financial LLC now owns 1,873 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $975,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. HCR Wealth Advisors grew its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. HCR Wealth Advisors now owns 7,499 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,902,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. raised its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 18.1% during the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 866 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $451,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.