Norges Bank Makes New $41.64 Million Investment in Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO)

Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 126,766 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $41,644,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 0.45% of Bio-Rad Laboratories as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Prudential Financial Inc. raised its position in Bio-Rad Laboratories by 173.3% in the fourth quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 5,968 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,961,000 after purchasing an additional 3,784 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,919,808 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $630,676,000 after buying an additional 12,168 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC raised its holdings in Bio-Rad Laboratories by 34.3% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 5,195 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,707,000 after buying an additional 1,326 shares during the last quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. bought a new position in Bio-Rad Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,026,000. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in Bio-Rad Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,332,000. 65.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on BIO shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories from $360.00 to $345.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. StockNews.com downgraded Bio-Rad Laboratories from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, February 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $481.00 target price 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Bio-Rad Laboratories currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $395.20.

Bio-Rad Laboratories Stock Up 12.6 %

NYSE BIO traded up $27.71 on Wednesday, reaching $248.22. The company had a trading volume of 568,099 shares, compared to its average volume of 316,969. The company has a quick ratio of 4.85, a current ratio of 6.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The company's fifty day moving average is $269.27 and its 200 day moving average is $315.95. Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. has a 52-week low of $215.38 and a 52-week high of $387.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.95 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.82 and a beta of 1.12.

Bio-Rad Laboratories (NYSE:BIO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The medical research company reported $2.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.86 by $0.04. Bio-Rad Laboratories had a negative net margin of 71.86% and a positive return on equity of 3.90%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. will post 10.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.