Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) Upgraded to Outperform at Sanford C. Bernstein

Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a research report report published on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have $630.00 price objective on the medical research company’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on TMO. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research note on Monday, October 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $680.00 price target for the company. UBS Group upgraded Thermo Fisher Scientific to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $670.00 to $660.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Bernstein Bank boosted their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $565.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $650.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Thermo Fisher Scientific currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $650.52.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:TMO opened at $542.97 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $207.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.04, a P/E/G ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.76. Thermo Fisher Scientific has a 1 year low of $493.30 and a 1 year high of $627.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The business’s 50-day moving average is $529.91 and its 200-day moving average is $567.91.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last issued its earnings results 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 return on equity of 17.49% and a net margin of 14.48%. The business had revenue of $10.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.63 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.69 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict 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. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.29%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.78%.

Thermo Fisher Scientific declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Friday, November 15th that permits the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the medical research company to reacquire up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Michael A. Boxer sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $560.16, for a total transaction of $1,120,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 12,736 shares in the company, valued at $7,134,197.76. This represents a 13.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $530.26, for a total value of $5,302,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 111,192 shares in the company, valued at $58,960,669.92. This trade represents a 8.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 47,150 shares of company stock worth $25,954,465 in the last quarter. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in TMO. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the third quarter valued at $27,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 3rd quarter worth $50,000. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the second quarter valued at about $50,000. Finally, Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America bought a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the third quarter worth about $65,000. 89.23% of the stock is 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.