Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Acquires 3,675 Shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its holdings in Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) by 446.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,498 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,675 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Bio-Rad Laboratories were worth $1,505,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Van ECK Associates Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $180,040,000. First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Bio-Rad Laboratories by 32,296.9% in the second quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 636,275 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $173,773,000 after purchasing an additional 634,311 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Bio-Rad Laboratories by 64.4% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 494,604 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $135,081,000 after purchasing an additional 193,700 shares in the last quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 26.2% during the second quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 649,522 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $177,391,000 after purchasing an additional 134,856 shares during the period. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 17.8% during the 2nd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 606,788 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $165,720,000 after purchasing an additional 91,882 shares in the last quarter. 65.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Bio-Rad Laboratories Stock Up 0.6 %

BIO stock opened at $340.53 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.53 billion, a PE ratio of -12.46 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a quick ratio of 4.52, a current ratio of 6.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. has a twelve month low of $262.12 and a twelve month high of $387.99. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $340.77 and its 200-day moving average is $317.76.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Andrew J. Last sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $2,494,016.46. This trade represents a 28.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP James Barry sold 623 shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $330.49, for a total transaction of $205,895.27. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 147 shares in the company, valued at $48,582.03. This trade represents a 80.91 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 17.06% of the company’s stock.

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.