Sanford C. Bernstein Upgrades Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) to “Outperform”

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

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $620.00 to $610.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $655.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $675.00 to $660.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Stephens initiated coverage on Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $680.00 target price for the company. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $650.52.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Price Performance

Shares of TMO opened at $542.97 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $529.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $567.91. Thermo Fisher Scientific has a fifty-two week low of $493.30 and a fifty-two week high of $627.88. The stock has a market cap of $207.69 billion, a PE ratio of 34.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.63.

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

Thermo Fisher Scientific Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Friday, November 15th that permits the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the medical research company to buy up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In other news, SVP Michael A. Boxer sold 2,000 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 $1,120,320.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 12,736 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,134,197.76. The trade was a 13.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $560.16, for a total transaction 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 47,150 shares of company stock valued at $25,954,465 over the last ninety days. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Thermo Fisher Scientific

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. IFG Advisors LLC increased its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 3.3% in the third quarter. IFG Advisors LLC now owns 532 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $329,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC now owns 4,398 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,720,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Axiom Advisory LLC grew its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 1.6% in the third quarter. Axiom Advisory LLC now owns 1,216 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $720,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 0.5% during the third quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,921 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,425,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bangor Savings Bank lifted its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 334 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $174,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.23% of the company’s stock.

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.