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

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 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.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in BIO. Metis Global Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 712 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $234,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in Bio-Rad Laboratories by 13.2% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 265 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $87,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in Bio-Rad Laboratories by 41.6% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 109 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its stake in Bio-Rad Laboratories by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 4,530 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,488,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 900 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $296,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. 65.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on BIO shares. StockNews.com lowered Bio-Rad Laboratories from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, February 17th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $481.00 price objective on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $380.20.

Bio-Rad Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of BIO stock traded down $0.27 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $242.05. The stock had a trading volume of 139,535 shares, compared to its average volume of 312,703. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $249.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $306.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.78 billion, a PE ratio of -3.72 and a beta of 1.12. Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. has a 12 month low of $215.38 and a 12 month high of $387.99. The company has a current ratio of 6.48, a quick ratio of 4.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

Bio-Rad Laboratories (NYSE:BIO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The medical research company reported $2.90 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. will post 10.81 EPS 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.