Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 43,616 Shares of Qiagen (NYSE:QGEN)

Franklin Resources Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Qiagen (NYSE:QGEN - Free Report) by 33.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 87,470 shares of the company's stock after selling 43,616 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.'s holdings in Qiagen were worth $3,857,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in QGEN. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its stake in Qiagen by 39.8% during the third quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 853 shares of the company's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the period. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Qiagen by 11.5% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,792 shares of the company's stock worth $127,000 after buying an additional 287 shares in the last quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI grew its position in shares of Qiagen by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 5,291 shares of the company's stock worth $239,000 after buying an additional 287 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in shares of Qiagen by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 25,636 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,155,000 after acquiring an additional 308 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atria Investments Inc lifted its position in shares of Qiagen by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 7,632 shares of the company's stock valued at $348,000 after acquiring an additional 433 shares during the period. 70.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Qiagen Stock Up 0.5 %

QGEN stock traded up $0.24 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $45.06. 173,389 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,133,198. The company has a quick ratio of 1.89, a current ratio of 2.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $43.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $43.76. The stock has a market cap of $10.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 115.54, a P/E/G ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.35. Qiagen has a fifty-two week low of $39.03 and a fifty-two week high of $47.44.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

QGEN has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $54.00 price target (up from $42.00) on shares of Qiagen in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. HSBC lowered Qiagen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $49.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded Qiagen to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Qiagen has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $51.88.

About Qiagen

QIAGEN N.V. offers sample to insight solutions that transform biological materials into molecular insights worldwide. The company provides primary sample technology consumables, such as nucleic stabilization and purification kits for primary sample materials, manual and automated processing for genotyping, gene expression, and viral and bacterial analysis, as well as silica membranes and magnetic bead technologies; secondary sample technology consumables, including kits and components for purification of nucleic acids from secondary sample materials; and instruments for nucleic acid purification and accessories.