Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Has $2.30 Million Position in Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO)

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. reduced its holdings in Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) by 12.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,137 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 1,046 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Bio-Rad Laboratories were worth $2,304,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BIO. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 48.7% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 17,671 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $5,706,000 after purchasing an additional 5,790 shares during the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 38.2% during the 4th quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 151,691 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $48,980,000 after buying an additional 41,937 shares during the period. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth about $1,590,000. Comerica Bank bought a new stake in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories during the 3rd quarter worth about $11,054,000. Finally, Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth about $2,609,000. 65.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on BIO shares. Citigroup downgraded shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $400.00 to $365.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories from $420.00 to $385.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $315.00 target price (down previously from $440.00) on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories in a report on Monday, June 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Bio-Rad Laboratories has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $436.67.

Insider Transactions at Bio-Rad Laboratories

In related news, EVP Michael Crowley sold 369 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.91, for a total transaction of $104,024.79. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,573 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,852,994.43. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 17.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Bio-Rad Laboratories Stock Performance

NYSE BIO traded up $0.46 during trading on Friday, reaching $282.26. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 203,946 shares, compared to its average volume of 201,821. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $288.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $312.06. Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. has a 12 month low of $261.59 and a 12 month high of $431.79. The company has a current ratio of 6.57, a quick ratio of 4.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -27.25 and a beta of 0.95.

Bio-Rad Laboratories (NYSE:BIO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The medical research company reported $2.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.25. Bio-Rad Laboratories had a negative net margin of 12.37% and a positive return on equity of 3.59%. The company had revenue of $610.82 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $619.09 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.34 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. will post 10.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bio-Rad Laboratories Profile

Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc manufactures and distributes life science research and clinical diagnostic products in the United States, Europe, Asia, Canada, and Latin America. It operates through two segments, Life Science and Clinical Diagnostics. The company develops, manufactures, and markets instruments, systems, reagents, and consumables to separate, purify, characterize, and quantitate biological materials such as cells, proteins, and nucleic acids for proteomics, genomics, biopharmaceutical production, cellular biology, and food safety markets.