The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Raises Stock Holdings in Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) by 38.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 86,782 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 24,052 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 0.31% of Bio-Rad Laboratories worth $29,036,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in BIO. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in Bio-Rad Laboratories by 140.6% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 77 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its position in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 193.8% during the 2nd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 94 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Gladius Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in Bio-Rad Laboratories in the 2nd quarter worth $51,000. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Bio-Rad Laboratories in the 2nd quarter worth $59,000. 65.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Bio-Rad Laboratories Trading Up 0.5 %

BIO stock opened at $340.21 on Friday. Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $262.12 and a fifty-two week high of $387.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 4.52 and a current ratio of 6.14. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $340.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $317.38. The firm has a market cap of $9.53 billion, a PE ratio of -12.45 and a beta of 0.93.

Bio-Rad Laboratories (NYSE:BIO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The medical research company reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.85. The firm had revenue of $649.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $628.18 million. Bio-Rad Laboratories had a negative net margin of 30.18% and a positive return on equity of 3.74%. The business’s revenue was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.33 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. will post 10.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP James Barry sold 623 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $330.49, for a total value of $205,895.27. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,582.03. This represents a 80.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Andrew J. Last sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.94, for a total transaction of $989,820.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 7,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,494,016.46. This trade represents a 28.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 17.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup upped their price objective on Bio-Rad Laboratories from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories from $446.00 to $469.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $340.00 target price for the company. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $391.80.

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.