Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. Takes Position in Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO)

Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. bought a new position in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,065 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $350,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Bio-Rad Laboratories by 2,175.0% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 91 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories in the third quarter valued at about $32,000. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 41.6% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 109 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cape Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. 65.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on BIO shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $481.00 price target on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. StockNews.com downgraded Bio-Rad Laboratories from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, February 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Bio-Rad Laboratories from $360.00 to $345.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $395.20.

Bio-Rad Laboratories Stock Performance

BIO stock traded down $5.29 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $251.16. 291,086 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 234,129. Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. has a twelve month low of $248.22 and a twelve month high of $387.99. The company has a market capitalization of $7.04 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.86 and a beta of 0.90. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $323.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $331.64. The company has a current ratio of 6.48, a quick ratio of 4.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

Bio-Rad Laboratories (NYSE:BIO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The medical research company reported $2.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 anticipate that Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. will post 10.81 earnings per share for the current year.

About Bio-Rad Laboratories

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.