Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) Cut to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Saturday.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. Redburn Partners set a $580.00 price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Argus increased their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $580.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $583.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $635.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Thermo Fisher Scientific currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $625.47.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Price Performance

Shares of TMO opened at $615.60 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.50. Thermo Fisher Scientific has a fifty-two week low of $385.46 and a fifty-two week high of $628.08. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $582.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $519.52. The company has a market capitalization of $231.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.07 and a beta of 0.91.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $5.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.50 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $11.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.90 billion. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a return on equity of 16.97% and a net margin of 15.02%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.28 EPS. Thermo Fisher Scientific has set its FY 2025 guidance at 22.600-22.860 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Thermo Fisher Scientific will post 23.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, November 6th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the medical research company to buy up to 2.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 15th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.94%.

Insider Activity at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In other news, COO Michel Lagarde sold 22,046 shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $563.56, for a total transaction of $12,424,243.76. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 84,117 shares in the company, valued at $47,404,976.52. The trade was a 20.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 7,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $566.10, for a total transaction of $4,104,225.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 113,762 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $64,400,668.20. This represents a 5.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 149,271 shares of company stock worth $86,507,282 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Thermo Fisher Scientific

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 126.9% in the third quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 59 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Beacon Financial Strategies CORP acquired a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 825.0% in the 2nd quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC now owns 74 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. raised its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 406.7% in the second quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 76 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. 89.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Thermo Fisher Scientific

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE: TMO) is a global provider of scientific instrumentation, reagents and consumables, software, and services that support research, clinical, and industrial laboratories. The company supplies analytical instruments and laboratory equipment, life sciences reagents and kits, specialty diagnostics, and a broad range of consumables used by researchers, clinicians, and manufacturers. Its offerings also include laboratory information management and data-analysis software, as well as service solutions such as instrument maintenance, validation, and logistics that help customers run complex workflows efficiently.

Thermo Fisher operates through multiple business areas that broadly cover life sciences solutions, analytical instruments, specialty diagnostics, and laboratory products and biopharma services, including contract development and manufacturing for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.