Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) Receives $649.33 Average Target Price from Analysts

Shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO - Get Free Report) have earned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-two research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $649.33.

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays decreased their price target on 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. Evercore ISI decreased their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $670.00 to $660.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $650.00 to $670.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, September 20th.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Performance

NYSE:TMO traded up $8.50 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $529.36. The stock had a trading volume of 1,869,732 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,146,533. The stock has a market cap of $202.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.19, a P/E/G ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. Thermo Fisher Scientific has a 12-month low of $488.02 and a 12-month high of $627.88. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $558.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $575.52.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The medical research company reported $5.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $10.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.63 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $5.69 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Thermo Fisher Scientific will post 21.68 EPS for the current year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase 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 buy up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.29%. Thermo Fisher Scientific's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $560.16, for a total transaction of $168,048.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,663 shares in the company, valued at $9,333,946.08. This represents a 1.77 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $554.29, for a total transaction of $5,542,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 121,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $67,175,513.68. The trade was a 7.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 47,150 shares of company stock valued at $25,954,465 in the last quarter. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Thermo Fisher Scientific

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC increased its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 318.2% during the 2nd quarter. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC now owns 46 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. New Millennium Group LLC purchased a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC raised its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 116.0% in the second quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 54 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.23% of the company's stock.

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.