Allianz Asset Management GmbH Sells 31,698 Shares of Qiagen N.V. (NYSE:QGEN)

Key Points

• Allianz Asset Management GmbH sold 31,698 shares of Qiagen N.V., reducing its stake by 12.9% in the first quarter, now holding approximately 213,136 shares valued at $8.5 million.
• Wall Street analysts have mixed views on Qiagen, with a range of ratings including a recent downgrade from "strong-buy" to "buy" and several price target increases from various firms.
• Qiagen recently announced a dividend of $0.25 per share, resulting in a yield of 0.52%, with a payout ratio of 62.5% as of the latest quarter.

Allianz Asset Management GmbH cut its stake in Qiagen N.V. (NYSE:QGEN - Free Report) by 12.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 213,136 shares of the company's stock after selling 31,698 shares during the quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH owned about 0.10% of Qiagen worth $8,518,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in QGEN. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new position in Qiagen in the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its stake in shares of Qiagen by 770.6% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,490 shares of the company's stock worth $111,000 after acquiring an additional 2,204 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Qiagen by 93.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,943 shares of the company's stock worth $118,000 after acquiring an additional 1,425 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Qiagen in the 4th quarter worth about $202,000. Finally, GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new stake in Qiagen during the 4th quarter valued at about $216,000. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Qiagen from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Qiagen from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Qiagen from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of Qiagen from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Qiagen in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $55.00 price target on the stock. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $49.40.

Qiagen Stock Performance

QGEN opened at $51.80 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 3.37, a quick ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The company has a market cap of $11.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 129.86, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.68. The company's 50 day moving average is $46.75 and its 200 day moving average is $43.21. Qiagen N.V. has a 12-month low of $37.63 and a 12-month high of $51.88.

Qiagen (NYSE:QGEN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.05. Qiagen had a net margin of 4.68% and a return on equity of 14.61%. The company had revenue of $483.46 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $465.66 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.44 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Qiagen N.V. will post 2.26 EPS for the current year.

Qiagen Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 2nd. Qiagen's payout ratio is 62.50%.

Qiagen Company 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.

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