Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Hold”

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Monday.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $655.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Bernstein Bank raised their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $565.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $625.00 to $620.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research note on Monday, October 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $680.00 target price for the company. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $650.05.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:TMO opened at $545.00 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 company has a market cap of $208.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.17, a PEG ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.76. Thermo Fisher Scientific has a 52 week low of $493.30 and a 52 week high of $627.88. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $530.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $568.23.

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

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

Thermo Fisher Scientific Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.29%. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s payout ratio is 9.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Thermo Fisher Scientific news, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 owns 16,663 shares in the company, valued at $9,333,946.08. The trade was a 1.77 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $554.29, for a total transaction of $5,542,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 121,192 shares in the company, valued at $67,175,513.68. This represents a 7.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 47,150 shares of company stock worth $25,954,465 in the last quarter. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Thermo Fisher Scientific

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of TMO. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 2nd quarter valued at about $50,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 3rd quarter valued at about $50,000. Finally, Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America bought a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 3rd quarter valued at about $65,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.