Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) Receives Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-one research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $607.43.

Several research firms have commented on TMO. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $651.00 to $637.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $603.00 to $573.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Raymond James reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $667.00 target price (up previously from $650.00) on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $580.00 to $570.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $610.00 price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd.

Insider Activity at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In other Thermo Fisher Scientific news, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $516.67, for a total value 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 $59,506,950.58. The trade was a 7.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 directly owns 10,816 shares in the company, valued at $5,759,736.32. This trade represents a 25.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 14,075 shares of company stock valued at $7,305,942. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Thermo Fisher Scientific

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in TMO. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Barrett & Company Inc. purchased a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Missouri Trust & Investment Co bought a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.23% of the company's stock.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:TMO opened at $407.36 on Wednesday. Thermo Fisher Scientific has a fifty-two week low of $406.50 and a fifty-two week high of $627.88. The company's 50-day moving average is $471.62 and its 200 day moving average is $518.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.66. The company has a market capitalization of $153.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.82.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The medical research company reported $5.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.10 by $0.05. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 17.51%. The company had revenue of $10.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.11 EPS. Thermo Fisher Scientific's quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Thermo Fisher Scientific will post 23.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.43 dividend. This is a boost from Thermo Fisher Scientific's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Thermo Fisher Scientific's dividend payout ratio is presently 10.09%.

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.

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