Earnest Partners LLC Acquires 64,575 Shares of Qiagen (NYSE:QGEN)

Earnest Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Qiagen (NYSE:QGEN - Free Report) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,002,489 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 64,575 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC owned 1.80% of Qiagen worth $178,231,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of QGEN. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new position in shares of Qiagen in the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Qiagen by 41.5% during the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 856 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 251 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Qiagen by 152.5% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 871 shares of the company's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 526 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of Qiagen during the third quarter worth about $53,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Qiagen by 148.0% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,399 shares of the company's stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 835 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company's stock.

Qiagen Price Performance

Shares of QGEN traded up $1.01 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $43.21. 717,066 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,122,739. Qiagen has a 12 month low of $37.63 and a 12 month high of $49.30. The company has a current ratio of 3.61, a quick ratio of 3.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The stock has a market cap of $9.60 billion, a PE ratio of 120.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.62. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $40.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $41.71.

Qiagen (NYSE:QGEN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.01. Qiagen had a return on equity of 13.92% and a net margin of 4.23%. Equities analysts expect that Qiagen will post 2.26 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

QGEN has been the subject of several analyst reports. Redburn Atlantic downgraded Qiagen from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Baird R W cut Qiagen from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Qiagen from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Qiagen from $50.00 to $48.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $46.67 target price (down from $48.61) on shares of Qiagen in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $48.42.

Qiagen Profile

QIAGEN NV is a holding company, which engages in the provision of Sample to Insight solutions that enable customers to gain valuable molecular insights from samples containing the building blocks of life. The company sample technologies isolate and process DNA, RNA, and proteins from blood, tissue, and other materials.