Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) Shares Purchased by HighTower Advisors LLC

HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) by 3.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,250 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 237 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Bio-Rad Laboratories were worth $2,053,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Bio-Rad Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth $3,561,000. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Bio-Rad Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth $510,000. Verition Fund Management LLC increased its holdings in Bio-Rad Laboratories by 193.3% in the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 3,470 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,161,000 after acquiring an additional 2,287 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co purchased a new stake in Bio-Rad Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth $958,000. Finally, DAVENPORT & Co LLC increased its holdings in Bio-Rad Laboratories by 48.8% in the 4th quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 84,677 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $27,817,000 after acquiring an additional 27,780 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.24% of the company’s stock.

Bio-Rad Laboratories Price Performance

Bio-Rad Laboratories stock opened at $256.42 on Friday. Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. has a 52-week low of $244.00 and a 52-week high of $387.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.94 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $303.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $325.28. The company has a quick ratio of 4.85, a current ratio of 6.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

Bio-Rad Laboratories (NYSE:BIO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The medical research company reported $2.90 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.86 by $0.04. Bio-Rad Laboratories had a negative net margin of 71.86% and a positive return on equity of 3.90%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. will post 10.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on BIO shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 17th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories from $360.00 to $345.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $481.00 target price on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Bio-Rad Laboratories currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $395.20.

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.