Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. Increases Stock Holdings in Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB)

Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB) by 0.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,746,477 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,323 shares during the quarter. Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd.’s holdings in Biogen were worth $267,071,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Biogen during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Biogen by 640.9% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 163 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the period. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Biogen in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Biogen during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. grew its stake in Biogen by 63.8% in the third quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 231 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. 87.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Stephen A. Sherwin sold 8,760 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.02, for a total transaction of $1,314,175.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,318 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,697,926.36. This trade represents a 43.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Biogen Stock Down 1.4 %

NASDAQ BIIB opened at $138.37 on Friday. Biogen Inc. has a 52 week low of $128.51 and a 52 week high of $238.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The company has a market capitalization of $20.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.01. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $141.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $160.25.

Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The biotechnology company reported $3.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.43 by $0.01. Biogen had a net margin of 16.87% and a return on equity of 14.98%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Biogen Inc. will post 15.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on BIIB. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and set a $178.00 target price on shares of Biogen in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Jefferies Financial Group cut Biogen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $250.00 to $180.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Biogen from $231.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price target on shares of Biogen from $298.00 to $265.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Biogen in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $160.00 price objective on the stock. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Biogen has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $213.33.

About Biogen

Biogen Inc discovers, develops, manufactures, and delivers therapies for treating neurological and neurodegenerative diseases in the United States, Europe, Germany, Asia, and internationally. The company provides TECFIDERA, VUMERITY, AVONEX, PLEGRIDY, TYSABRI, and FAMPYRA for multiple sclerosis (MS); SPINRAZA for spinal muscular atrophy; ADUHELM to treat Alzheimer’s disease; FUMADERM to treat plaque psoriasis; BENEPALI, an etanercept biosimilar referencing ENBREL; IMRALDI, an adalimumab biosimilar referencing HUMIRA; FLIXABI, an infliximab biosimilar referencing REMICADE; and BYOOVIZ, a ranibizumab biosimilar referencing LUCENTIS.