Westfield Capital Management Co. LP Decreases Position in Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO)

Key Points

• Westfield Capital Management Co. LP significantly reduced its stake in Bio-Rad Laboratories, selling 129,934 shares and decreasing ownership by 49.1%, leaving it with approximately 0.48% of the company valued at $32.8 million.
• Despite Westfield’s reduction, other institutional investors have increased their positions, with GeoWealth Management LLC boosting its stake by 342.9% in the last quarter.
• Bio-Rad Laboratories reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $2.61, exceeding expectations, and noted a revenue increase of 2.1% year-over-year, totaling $651.60 million.

Westfield Capital Management Co. LP trimmed its stake in Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO - Free Report) by 49.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 134,671 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 129,934 shares during the quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP owned approximately 0.48% of Bio-Rad Laboratories worth $32,800,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GeoWealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 342.9% in the fourth quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 93 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Curat Global LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories in the first quarter worth $34,000. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 260.0% in the first quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 144 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth $71,000. Finally, Skylands Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories in the first quarter worth $122,000. 65.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bio-Rad Laboratories Trading Down 0.3%

NYSE:BIO traded down $0.81 on Friday, hitting $264.45. 211,846 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 346,668. The stock has a market cap of $7.16 billion, a PE ratio of 22.54 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 5.12, a quick ratio of 3.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $245.28 and a 200-day moving average of $258.31. Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $211.43 and a fifty-two week high of $387.99.

Bio-Rad Laboratories (NYSE:BIO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The medical research company reported $2.61 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.93 by $0.68. Bio-Rad Laboratories had a return on equity of 4.01% and a net margin of 12.50%. The company had revenue of $651.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $614.82 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.11 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. will post 10.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BIO has been the subject of several analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Bio-Rad Laboratories from $387.00 to $409.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. UBS Group dropped their target price on Bio-Rad Laboratories from $355.00 to $310.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Citigroup dropped their target price on Bio-Rad Laboratories from $400.00 to $350.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Bio-Rad Laboratories from $245.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Bio-Rad Laboratories from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $333.50.

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.