Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Saturday.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $615.00 target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research report on Friday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Thermo Fisher Scientific in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $685.00 price objective on the stock. KeyCorp raised shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $750.00 target price for the company in a report on Sunday, December 7th. Robert W. Baird set a $653.00 target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $683.00 price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research report on Friday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $633.68.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Performance

NYSE:TMO opened at $509.09 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a current ratio of 1.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $189.12 billion, a PE ratio of 28.70, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.96. Thermo Fisher Scientific has a fifty-two week low of $385.46 and a fifty-two week high of $643.99. The company has a fifty day moving average of $572.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $548.55.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The medical research company reported $6.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.45 by $0.12. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a net margin of 15.05% and a return on equity of 16.92%. The business had revenue of $12.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.95 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $6.10 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Thermo Fisher Scientific will post 23.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.47 per share. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. This is a boost from Thermo Fisher Scientific’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s payout ratio is presently 9.70%.

Thermo Fisher Scientific declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, November 6th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the medical research company to purchase up to 2.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Thermo Fisher Scientific news, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $541.20, for a total value of $216,480.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 20,752 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,230,982.40. This represents a 1.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Michel Lagarde sold 22,046 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $563.56, for a total transaction of $12,424,243.76. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 84,117 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,404,976.52. The trade was a 20.77% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 54,446 shares of company stock valued at $31,309,204 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Thermo Fisher Scientific

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. J. Stern & Co. LLP boosted its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 58,006.4% in the 4th quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 31,509,332 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $18,258,082,000 after buying an additional 31,455,105 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,264,615,000. Soundwatch Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 2nd quarter valued at $807,713,000. Flossbach Von Storch SE boosted its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 93.0% in the second quarter. Flossbach Von Storch SE now owns 2,727,021 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,105,698,000 after acquiring an additional 1,314,182 shares in the last quarter. Finally, T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 2,183.2% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,328,845 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $770,000,000 after purchasing an additional 1,270,643 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.23% of the company’s stock.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Company Profile

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE: TMO) is a global provider of scientific instrumentation, reagents and consumables, software, and services that support research, clinical, and industrial laboratories. The company supplies analytical instruments and laboratory equipment, life sciences reagents and kits, specialty diagnostics, and a broad range of consumables used by researchers, clinicians, and manufacturers. Its offerings also include laboratory information management and data-analysis software, as well as service solutions such as instrument maintenance, validation, and logistics that help customers run complex workflows efficiently.

Thermo Fisher operates through multiple business areas that broadly cover life sciences solutions, analytical instruments, specialty diagnostics, and laboratory products and biopharma services, including contract development and manufacturing for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.