Norges Bank Invests $41.64 Million in Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO)

Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 126,766 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,644,000. Norges Bank owned about 0.45% of Bio-Rad Laboratories at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 2,175.0% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 91 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management boosted its position in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 55.6% in the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 98 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new position in Bio-Rad Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in Bio-Rad Laboratories by 41.6% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 109 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the period. Finally, Cape Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in Bio-Rad Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. 65.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Bio-Rad Laboratories Trading Down 4.1 %

Bio-Rad Laboratories stock opened at $225.21 on Friday. Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. has a 12 month low of $221.18 and a 12 month high of $387.99. 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 stock has a market cap of $6.31 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.46 and a beta of 0.98. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $281.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $319.49.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on BIO. StockNews.com lowered shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 17th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Bio-Rad Laboratories from $360.00 to $345.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $481.00 price target on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $395.20.

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.