Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) Price Target Lowered to $475.00 at Barclays

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) had its price target decreased by Barclays from $620.00 to $475.00 in a research report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an equal weight rating on the medical research company’s stock.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on TMO. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $605.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group upped their price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $700.00 to $715.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup dropped their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $650.00 to $570.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $667.00 target price (up previously from $650.00) on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $647.00 to $678.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $647.43.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:TMO opened at $426.67 on Thursday. Thermo Fisher Scientific has a 1-year low of $409.85 and a 1-year high of $627.88. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $513.41 and a 200-day moving average price of $540.46. The company has a market capitalization of $160.97 billion, a PE ratio of 25.81, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.29.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $6.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.94 by $0.16. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a return on equity of 17.51% and a net margin of 14.78%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Thermo Fisher Scientific will post 23.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.40%. This is an increase from Thermo Fisher Scientific’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.41%.

Insider Activity at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In related news, SVP Michael A. Boxer sold 3,775 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $532.52, for a total value of $2,010,263.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 10,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,759,736.32. This trade represents a 25.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $516.67, for a total transaction of $5,166,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 115,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $59,506,950.58. This trade represents a 7.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 23,900 shares of company stock worth $13,106,062 in the last quarter. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Thermo Fisher Scientific

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in TMO. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Barrett & Company Inc. bought a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Missouri Trust & Investment Co purchased a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. 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.