Analysts Set Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) Price Target at $658.00

Shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-two research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eighteen have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $656.86.

A number of analysts have commented on TMO shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $647.00 to $678.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $630.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. UBS Group boosted their target price 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. StockNews.com raised Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $675.00 to $660.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Price Performance

Thermo Fisher Scientific stock opened at $539.86 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Thermo Fisher Scientific has a 12-month low of $493.30 and a 12-month high of $627.88. The stock has a market cap of $206.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.77. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $548.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $566.46.

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

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

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Thermo Fisher Scientific’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s payout ratio is currently 10.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 111,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,960,669.92. This represents a 8.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $585.59, for a total transaction of $175,677.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,363 shares in the company, valued at $9,582,009.17. This represents a 1.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 20,125 shares of company stock valued at $11,231,699 in the last ninety days. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Thermo Fisher Scientific

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of TMO. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Barrett & Company Inc. purchased a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the fourth quarter worth $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.