Stock Repurchase Program Declared by Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) Board

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Friday, November 15th, RTT News reports. The company plans to buyback $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the medical research company to repurchase up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Price Performance

TMO opened at $513.08 on Friday. Thermo Fisher Scientific has a one year low of $464.17 and a one year high of $627.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $196.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.79. 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 company’s 50 day simple moving average is $588.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $582.69.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The medical research company reported $5.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.25 by $0.03. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a net margin of 14.48% and a return on equity of 17.49%. The company had revenue of $10.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.63 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.69 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Thermo Fisher Scientific will post 21.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.30%. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s payout ratio is currently 9.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $625.00 to $620.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $655.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $650.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a report on Monday, October 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $680.00 price target for the company. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $620.00 to $610.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Thermo Fisher Scientific currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $649.33.

Insider Transactions at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In other Thermo Fisher Scientific news, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $560.16, for a total value of $168,048.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,663 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,333,946.08. The trade was a 1.77 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael A. Boxer sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $560.16, for a total transaction of $1,120,320.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 12,736 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,134,197.76. The trade was a 13.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 37,150 shares of company stock worth $20,651,865 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.34% 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.