Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $607.35.

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $590.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $515.00 to $605.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. HSBC lifted their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $660.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a report on Monday, March 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $620.00 target price for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $621.00 to $620.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 25th.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE:TMO opened at $571.95 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $575.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $532.25. Thermo Fisher Scientific has a 12 month low of $415.60 and a 12 month high of $603.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The stock has a market cap of $218.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.80.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The medical research company reported $5.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.70 by $0.41. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a net margin of 14.20% and a return on equity of 18.45%. The company had revenue of $10.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.14 billion. Equities analysts predict that Thermo Fisher Scientific will post 21.64 EPS for the current year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.27%. This is a positive change from Thermo Fisher Scientific’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s payout ratio is 10.01%.

Insider Activity at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In other news, SVP Michael A. Boxer sold 14,566 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $562.00, for a total value of $8,186,092.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 12,901 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,250,362. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $555.63, for a total transaction of $5,556,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 49,155 shares in the company, valued at $27,311,992.65. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Michael A. Boxer sold 14,566 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $562.00, for a total transaction of $8,186,092.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 12,901 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,250,362. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 62,277 shares of company stock worth $35,373,364. 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 modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the fourth quarter valued at $2,909,524,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 61,995.4% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,009,671 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $535,923,000 after purchasing an additional 1,008,045 shares during the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P lifted its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 17,046.7% during the third quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 973,591 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $492,803,000 after purchasing an additional 967,913 shares during the last quarter. Veritas Asset Management LLP lifted its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 70.1% during the fourth quarter. Veritas Asset Management LLP now owns 1,692,148 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $898,175,000 after purchasing an additional 697,383 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Winslow Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the fourth quarter valued at $333,786,000. 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.