Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) Reaches New 12-Month Low - Should You Sell?

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO - Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $484.27 and last traded at $498.05, with a volume of 2915798 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $500.16.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TMO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $650.00 to $570.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Raymond James restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $667.00 price target (up previously from $650.00) on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $630.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada set a $693.00 target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $653.23.

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Thermo Fisher Scientific Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The firm has a market cap of $177.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.79. The business has a 50-day moving average of $536.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $549.69.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $6.10 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.94 by $0.16. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 17.51%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 23.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Thermo Fisher Scientific's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.37%. Thermo Fisher Scientific's payout ratio is presently 10.41%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Michael A. Boxer sold 3,775 shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $532.52, for a total value of $2,010,263.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 10,816 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,759,736.32. This trade represents a 25.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $585.59, for a total value of $175,677.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,363 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,582,009.17. The trade was a 1.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 23,900 shares of company stock valued at $13,106,062. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Thermo Fisher Scientific

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in TMO. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,659,943 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $4,719,477,000 after buying an additional 127,564 shares during the period. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 11.4% during the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 9,705 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $5,972,000 after acquiring an additional 995 shares in the last quarter. Greenwood Gearhart Inc. raised its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 9.8% during the third quarter. Greenwood Gearhart Inc. now owns 20,579 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $12,730,000 after purchasing an additional 1,837 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 23.6% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 55,452 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $28,868,000 after purchasing an additional 10,606 shares during the period. Finally, S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC increased its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC now owns 10,626 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $5,528,000 after purchasing an additional 618 shares in the last quarter. 89.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.