Raymond James Financial Inc. Invests $5.12 Million in Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 15,581 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $5,119,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.06% of Bio-Rad Laboratories at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wealthfront Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Bio-Rad Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth approximately $342,686,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at $41,644,000. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC bought a new position in Bio-Rad Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,740,000. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. grew its holdings in Bio-Rad Laboratories by 17.9% during the fourth quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 256,927 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $84,403,000 after acquiring an additional 39,042 shares during the period. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Bio-Rad Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth about $9,820,000. 65.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bio-Rad Laboratories Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of BIO traded down $0.64 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $243.44. The company's stock had a trading volume of 52,341 shares, compared to its average volume of 311,605. The company has a 50 day moving average of $248.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $306.55. The company has a quick ratio of 4.85, a current ratio of 6.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The firm has a market cap of $6.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.74 and a beta of 1.12. Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. has a 1-year low of $215.38 and a 1-year high of $387.99.

Bio-Rad Laboratories (NYSE:BIO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The medical research company reported $2.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.86 by $0.04. Bio-Rad Laboratories had a negative net margin of 71.86% and a positive return on equity of 3.90%. As a group, research analysts predict that Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. will post 10.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on BIO. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $481.00 target price on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. StockNews.com lowered Bio-Rad Laboratories from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, February 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Bio-Rad Laboratories from $320.00 to $270.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Bio-Rad Laboratories presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $380.20.

About Bio-Rad Laboratories

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.