Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. $BIO Shares Acquired by Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA

Key Points

• Massachusetts Financial Services Co. boosted its stake in Bio‑Rad by 4,534.4% in Q4, buying 390,593 shares to hold 399,207 shares (about 1.48% of the company) worth roughly $120.96 million.
• In the most recent quarter Bio‑Rad reported $2.51 EPS (missing the $2.57 consensus) and $693.2 million in revenue (up 3.9% year‑over‑year but slightly below estimates); the stock opened at $288.28 with a market cap of $7.78 billion and a P/E of 10.33.
• Institutional investors own about 65.24% of the stock, and analyst sentiment is mixed with an average rating of "Hold" (two Buys, three Holds, one Sell) and an average price target of $339.75, while Citigroup recently cut its target to $300 and moved to neutral.

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO - Free Report) by 4,534.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 399,207 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 390,593 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned 1.48% of Bio-Rad Laboratories worth $120,956,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in BIO. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 25.2% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 30,310 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $7,382,000 after purchasing an additional 6,100 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 45.6% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 105,006 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $25,575,000 after buying an additional 32,874 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 14.8% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 1,547 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $377,000 after buying an additional 199 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC raised its position in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 95.3% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 37,383 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $9,105,000 after buying an additional 18,239 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 13.5% during the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 2,192 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $529,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the period. 65.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bio-Rad Laboratories Stock Up 3.2%

NYSE:BIO opened at $288.28 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 4.19, a current ratio of 5.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock's fifty day moving average is $276.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $298.54. Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. has a 52 week low of $211.43 and a 52 week high of $343.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.33 and a beta of 1.16.

Bio-Rad Laboratories (NYSE:BIO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The medical research company reported $2.51 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.57 by ($0.06). Bio-Rad Laboratories had a return on equity of 3.86% and a net margin of 29.42%.The firm had revenue of $693.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $694.64 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.90 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. will post 10.81 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BIO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 14th. Finally, Citigroup lowered shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $375.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $339.75.

Bio-Rad Laboratories Company Profile

Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc is a global provider of life science research and clinical diagnostic products. The company operates through two primary business segments: Life Science and Clinical Diagnostics. Within the Life Science segment, Bio-Rad offers instruments, reagents and consumables for protein analysis, cell biology, gene expression and other molecular biology applications. The Clinical Diagnostics segment supplies quality control products, blood-typing reagents and instruments, and molecular diagnostic assays used in blood screening, infectious disease testing and routine clinical laboratories.

Founded in 1952 by David and Alice Schwartz and headquartered in Hercules, California, Bio-Rad has grown its footprint across the Americas, Europe, Asia-Pacific and other regions.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding BIO? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.