Fisher Asset Management LLC Sells 14,338 Shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO)

Fisher Asset Management LLC lowered its position in Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) by 15.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 80,570 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 14,338 shares during the quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC owned about 0.28% of Bio-Rad Laboratories worth $26,015,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in BIO. Earnest Partners LLC increased its stake in Bio-Rad Laboratories by 25.6% in the 3rd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 351,510 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $125,999,000 after acquiring an additional 71,570 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 8.0% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 343,462 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $123,114,000 after purchasing an additional 25,562 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new stake in Bio-Rad Laboratories in the third quarter valued at approximately $116,036,000. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC lifted its position in Bio-Rad Laboratories by 6.3% during the third quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 312,583 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $112,046,000 after purchasing an additional 18,419 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Bio-Rad Laboratories by 6.9% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 261,660 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $93,792,000 after purchasing an additional 16,808 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup cut shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $400.00 to $365.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. UBS Group lifted their price target on Bio-Rad Laboratories from $395.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. StockNews.com upgraded Bio-Rad Laboratories from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Bio-Rad Laboratories from $484.00 to $480.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Bio-Rad Laboratories currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $468.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bio-Rad Laboratories

In other news, EVP Michael Crowley sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $336.00, for a total transaction of $1,008,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,942 shares in the company, valued at $2,332,512. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 17.06% of the company’s stock.

Bio-Rad Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BIO opened at $279.83 on Friday. Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. has a 12-month low of $261.59 and a 12-month high of $468.45. The company has a quick ratio of 4.34, a current ratio of 5.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $318.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $314.90.

Bio-Rad Laboratories (NYSE:BIO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The medical research company reported $3.10 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.93 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $681.18 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $685.00 million. Bio-Rad Laboratories had a negative net margin of 23.86% and a positive return on equity of 3.90%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.31 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. will post 10.41 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.