UBS Group Upgrades Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) to Strong-Buy

UBS Group upgraded shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) to a strong-buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Monday, Zacks.com reports.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a buy rating and set a $650.00 target price (up previously from $600.00) on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research note on Monday, June 3rd. Barclays lowered their price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $615.00 to $600.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $620.00 to $632.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $600.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $650.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Thermo Fisher Scientific has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $632.89.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Price Performance

TMO opened at $620.26 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $236.94 billion, a PE ratio of 39.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.78. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $598.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $581.25. Thermo Fisher Scientific has a 52-week low of $415.60 and a 52-week high of $627.88.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The medical research company reported $5.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.13 by $0.24. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a net margin of 14.69% and a return on equity of 18.22%. The firm had revenue of $10.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.50 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.15 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Thermo Fisher Scientific will post 21.72 EPS for the current year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.25%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.01%.

Insider Transactions at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In other Thermo Fisher Scientific news, VP Lisa P. Britt sold 3,624 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $613.02, for a total value of $2,221,584.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 13,699 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,397,760.98. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Thermo Fisher Scientific news, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $617.21, for a total transaction of $6,172,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 123,816 shares in the company, valued at approximately $76,420,473.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Lisa P. Britt sold 3,624 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $613.02, for a total value of $2,221,584.48. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 13,699 shares in the company, valued at $8,397,760.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 23,084 shares of company stock valued at $14,094,292 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 10.0% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 13,493,852 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $7,842,762,000 after acquiring an additional 1,231,059 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the first quarter valued at approximately $705,636,000. Veritas Asset Management LLP grew its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 70.1% during the fourth quarter. Veritas Asset Management LLP now owns 1,692,148 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $898,175,000 after buying an additional 697,383 shares during the last quarter. Winslow Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 4th quarter worth approximately $333,786,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 32.2% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,481,257 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,372,157,000 after acquiring an additional 604,895 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.