Amundi Has $190.50 Million Stake in Qiagen N.V. $QGEN

Key Points

• Amundi increased its Qiagen stake by 12.4% in the first quarter, owning 4.76 million shares valued at approximately $190.5 million, or 2.31% of the company. Institutional investors collectively hold 70% of Qiagen’s stock.
• Qiagen reported quarterly EPS of $0.54, matching analyst expectations, while revenue of $492.3 million fell slightly short of forecasts. Analysts expect full-year EPS of $2.43.
• The stock has an average Wall Street rating of “Hold”, with an average price target of $43.34 versus a recent price of $41.47. Qiagen also raised its annual dividend to $0.35 per share.

Amundi increased its position in Qiagen N.V. (NYSE:QGEN - Free Report) by 12.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,757,681 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 524,959 shares during the quarter. Amundi owned approximately 2.31% of Qiagen worth $190,498,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of QGEN. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Qiagen by 46.8% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,746 shares of the company's stock valued at $110,000 after buying an additional 876 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in Qiagen by 23.2% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 27,957 shares of the company's stock worth $1,118,000 after acquiring an additional 5,271 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new position in Qiagen during the first quarter worth $2,518,000. Sona Asset Management US LLC bought a new position in shares of Qiagen during the first quarter valued at $8,891,000. Finally, Sculptor Capital LP lifted its holdings in shares of Qiagen by 182.7% during the first quarter. Sculptor Capital LP now owns 124,116 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,970,000 after acquiring an additional 274,116 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company's stock.

Qiagen Price Performance

QGEN opened at $41.47 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 3.21 and a quick ratio of 2.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.17 and a beta of 0.64. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $38.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $41.88. Qiagen N.V. has a one year low of $32.53 and a one year high of $57.81.

Qiagen (NYSE:QGEN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.54. The firm had revenue of $492.32 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $496.15 million. Qiagen had a net margin of 19.16% and a return on equity of 14.40%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.56 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Qiagen N.V. will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Qiagen Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared an annual dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 7th were paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 90.0%. This is a boost from Qiagen's previous annual dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 7th. Qiagen's payout ratio is currently 18.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

QGEN has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Berenberg Bank set a $45.50 target price on shares of Qiagen and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Qiagen from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Qiagen from $60.00 to $45.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Kepler Capital Markets set a $38.60 price objective on shares of Qiagen and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $43.00 price objective on shares of Qiagen and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $43.34.

About Qiagen

Qiagen NV NYSE: QGEN is a global provider of sample and assay technologies designed to enable molecular testing in the fields of molecular diagnostics, applied testing, academic research and pharmaceutical development. The company's solutions span the full workflow of nucleic acid and protein analysis, offering customers standardized kits, instruments and software tools that streamline the preparation, detection and quantification of DNA, RNA and proteins.

The company's product portfolio includes nucleic acid extraction and purification systems, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) reagents and instrumentation, digital PCR platforms, next-generation sequencing (NGS) library‐preparation kits and proteomics solutions.

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