The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Boosts Stock Position in Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) by 38.3% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 86,782 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 24,052 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Bio-Rad Laboratories were worth $29,036,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of BIO. Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 3.3% in the third quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 999 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $334,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in Bio-Rad Laboratories by 140.6% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 77 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its stake in Bio-Rad Laboratories by 193.8% in the 2nd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 94 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 9.5% during the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 947 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $259,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 37.2% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 321 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $88,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.24% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Bio-Rad Laboratories news, COO Andrew J. Last sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.94, for a total value of $989,820.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 7,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,494,016.46. This trade represents a 28.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP James Barry sold 623 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $330.49, for a total transaction of $205,895.27. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 147 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,582.03. This trade represents a 80.91 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 17.06% of the company’s stock.

Bio-Rad Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of BIO stock opened at $340.21 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $9.53 billion, a P/E ratio of -12.45 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 6.14 and a quick ratio of 4.52. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $340.56 and its 200 day moving average is $317.38. Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. has a 1-year low of $262.12 and a 1-year high of $387.99.

Bio-Rad Laboratories (NYSE:BIO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The medical research company reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.16 by $0.85. Bio-Rad Laboratories had a negative net margin of 30.18% and a positive return on equity of 3.74%. The firm had revenue of $649.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $628.18 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.33 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. will post 10.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on BIO. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Bio-Rad Laboratories from $446.00 to $469.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Citigroup raised their price target on Bio-Rad Laboratories from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com raised shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $340.00 target price on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $391.80.

About Bio-Rad Laboratories

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.