Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) Hits New 52-Week Low – Time to Sell?

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $484.27 and last traded at $498.05, with a volume of 2915798 shares. The stock had previously closed at $500.16.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $700.00 to $715.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada set a $693.00 target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific in a report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $647.00 to $678.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $660.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $653.23.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $187.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.13, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.79. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $540.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $551.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $6.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.94 by $0.16. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 17.51%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 23.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.43 dividend. This is an increase from Thermo Fisher Scientific’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s payout ratio is currently 10.41%.

Insider Transactions at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In other Thermo Fisher Scientific news, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $585.59, for a total value of $175,677.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,582,009.17. This trade represents a 1.80 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $516.67, for a total value of $5,166,700.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 115,174 shares in the company, valued at $59,506,950.58. This represents a 7.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 23,900 shares of company stock valued at $13,106,062. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Thermo Fisher Scientific

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,149,754,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 86.9% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,083,900 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,604,338,000 after buying an additional 1,433,444 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 1,905.4% during the 4th quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 903,232 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $469,889,000 after buying an additional 858,193 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 68,617.0% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 762,759 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $396,810,000 after acquiring an additional 761,649 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the fourth quarter worth approximately $377,901,000. 89.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.