Scotiabank Initiates Coverage on Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO)

Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) in a research report released on Monday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm issued a sector perform rating and a $605.00 target price on the medical research company’s stock.

TMO has been the topic of a number of other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $650.00 to $670.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. TD Cowen raised their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $656.00 to $686.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays reduced their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $620.00 to $610.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $767.00 to $718.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on Thermo Fisher Scientific in a report on Monday, October 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $680.00 target price on the stock. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Thermo Fisher Scientific has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $650.05.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Up 0.7 %

NYSE:TMO opened at $528.98 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $202.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.16, a P/E/G ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.77. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $540.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $571.40. Thermo Fisher Scientific has a 12-month low of $493.30 and a 12-month high of $627.88.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The medical research company reported $5.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.25 by $0.03. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a return on equity of 17.49% and a net margin of 14.48%. The business had revenue of $10.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.63 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.69 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Thermo Fisher Scientific will post 21.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.29%. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.78%.

Thermo Fisher Scientific declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Friday, November 15th that authorizes the company to buyback $4.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the medical research company to buy up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Michael A. Boxer sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $560.16, for a total value of $1,120,320.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 12,736 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,134,197.76. The trade was a 13.57 % 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, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 300 shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $560.16, for a total value of $168,048.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,663 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,333,946.08. The trade was a 1.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 47,150 shares of company stock valued at $25,954,465. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in TMO. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Stephens Consulting LLC raised its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 116.0% in the 2nd quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 54 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. bought a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 2nd quarter valued at about $50,000. Finally, HWG Holdings LP purchased a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the second quarter valued at $50,000. 89.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.