Principal Financial Group Inc. Grows Holdings in Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO)

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) by 95.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 44,341 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 21,669 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Bio-Rad Laboratories were worth $14,836,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Van ECK Associates Corp bought a new position in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories in the 2nd quarter worth $180,040,000. First Eagle Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 32,296.9% in the 2nd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 636,275 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $173,773,000 after acquiring an additional 634,311 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Bio-Rad Laboratories by 64.4% during the 2nd 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. grew its stake in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 26.2% in the second quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 649,522 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $177,391,000 after acquiring an additional 134,856 shares during the period. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 30.8% in the first quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 514,906 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $178,091,000 after buying an additional 121,272 shares during the last quarter. 65.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bio-Rad Laboratories Stock Performance

NYSE BIO opened at $320.31 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $340.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $314.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 6.14 and a quick ratio of 4.52. The company has a market cap of $8.97 billion, a P/E ratio of -11.72 and a beta of 0.93. Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. has a 1-year low of $262.12 and a 1-year high of $387.99.

Bio-Rad Laboratories (NYSE:BIO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The medical research company reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.85. Bio-Rad Laboratories had a positive return on equity of 3.74% and a negative net margin of 30.18%. The company had revenue of $649.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $628.18 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.33 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BIO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $340.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories from $446.00 to $469.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Citigroup increased 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $391.80.

Insider Transactions at Bio-Rad Laboratories

In other news, COO Andrew J. Last sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.94, for a total transaction of $989,820.00. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP James Barry sold 623 shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 147 shares in the company, valued at $48,582.03. The trade was a 80.91 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company 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.