Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Boosts Stock Position in Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO - Free Report) by 14.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 746,119 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 91,690 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 2.66% of Bio-Rad Laboratories worth $245,106,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of BIO. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,919,808 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $630,676,000 after buying an additional 12,168 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Bio-Rad Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at about $342,686,000. Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 271,387 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $89,156,000 after purchasing an additional 18,873 shares during the period. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. increased its holdings in Bio-Rad Laboratories by 17.9% during the fourth quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 256,927 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $84,403,000 after buying an additional 39,042 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Bio-Rad Laboratories by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 191,867 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $63,030,000 after buying an additional 7,552 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.24% of the company's stock.

Bio-Rad Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories stock traded up $0.90 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $249.75. The company had a trading volume of 222,602 shares, compared to its average volume of 316,419. The company has a quick ratio of 4.85, a current ratio of 6.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. has a 12-month low of $215.38 and a 12-month high of $387.99. The stock has a market cap of $7.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.84 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $251.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $309.16.

Bio-Rad Laboratories (NYSE:BIO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The medical research company reported $2.90 earnings per share (EPS) 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, analysts predict that Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. will post 10.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on BIO. StockNews.com downgraded Bio-Rad Laboratories from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, February 17th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Bio-Rad Laboratories from $320.00 to $270.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $481.00 price target on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $380.20.

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.