Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) Trading 3.9% Higher

Shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) shot up 3.9% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $487.75 and last traded at $487.46. 981,435 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 37% from the average session volume of 1,564,005 shares. The stock had previously closed at $469.03.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

TMO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. TheStreet lowered Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Monday, November 6th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $660.00 to $530.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research note on Thursday, September 28th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $603.00 price objective on the stock. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $664.00 to $625.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 27th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Thermo Fisher Scientific presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $593.94.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $188.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $478.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $513.60.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 25th. The medical research company reported $5.69 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.61 by $0.08. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a net margin of 13.68% and a return on equity of 18.88%. The firm had revenue of $10.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.60 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.08 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 21.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 16th. Investors of record on Friday, December 15th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 14th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.29%. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s payout ratio is 9.17%.

Thermo Fisher Scientific declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, November 14th that permits the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the medical research company to reacquire up to 2.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other Thermo Fisher Scientific news, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.15, for a total value of $4,561,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 131,175 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,835,476.25. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 3,000 shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $557.77, for a total value of $1,673,310.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 17,556 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,792,210.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $456.15, for a total transaction of $4,561,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 131,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $59,835,476.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 23,000 shares of company stock valued at $10,778,910. Insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Thermo Fisher Scientific

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 3.7% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 681,679 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $392,899,000 after acquiring an additional 24,376 shares during the period. American Trust boosted its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 13.2% in the first quarter. American Trust now owns 6,743 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,886,000 after buying an additional 784 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,074,000. Alta Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 5.1% during the 2nd quarter. Alta Capital Management LLC now owns 88,286 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $46,064,000 after acquiring an additional 4,307 shares during the period. Finally, First Manhattan CO. LLC. increased its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 11.2% in the 1st quarter. First Manhattan CO. LLC. now owns 724,844 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $417,779,000 after purchasing an additional 72,792 shares in the last quarter. 87.06% 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 United States 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, clinical next-generation sequencing, bio production to pharmaceutical, biotechnology, agricultural, clinical, healthcare, academic, and government markets.