Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Has $594,000 Stock Holdings in Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. lessened its position in Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO - Free Report) by 74.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,807 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 5,258 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Bio-Rad Laboratories were worth $594,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of BIO. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,132 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $379,000 after buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Sivik Global Healthcare LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at $3,285,000. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 900 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $296,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 valued at $27,817,000 after purchasing an additional 27,780 shares during the period. Finally, Mather Group LLC. boosted its position in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 172.8% in the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 461 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $151,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.24% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on BIO shares. UBS Group decreased their price target on Bio-Rad Laboratories from $355.00 to $310.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Bio-Rad Laboratories from $409.00 to $392.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Bio-Rad Laboratories from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday. Citigroup decreased their price target on Bio-Rad Laboratories from $400.00 to $350.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Bio-Rad Laboratories from $320.00 to $270.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $327.40.

Bio-Rad Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories stock traded down $0.86 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $226.75. 1,388,844 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 315,150. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 6.48 and a quick ratio of 4.85. The firm has a market cap of $6.17 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.49 and a beta of 1.00. Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. has a 52 week low of $215.38 and a 52 week high of $387.99. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $238.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $289.53.

Bio-Rad Laboratories (NYSE:BIO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The medical research company reported $2.54 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.81. Bio-Rad Laboratories had a positive return on equity of 3.90% and a negative net margin of 71.86%. The company had revenue of $585.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $573.01 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.30 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. will post 10.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Bio-Rad Laboratories Profile

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.