Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) Shares Sold by Veritas Asset Management LLP

Veritas Asset Management LLP cut its stake in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO - Free Report) by 10.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 976,827 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 109,652 shares during the quarter. Bio-Rad Laboratories makes up approximately 3.0% of Veritas Asset Management LLP's portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Veritas Asset Management LLP owned 3.49% of Bio-Rad Laboratories worth $320,897,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at $3,561,000. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in Bio-Rad Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at $510,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Bio-Rad Laboratories by 95.6% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 44,341 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $14,836,000 after buying an additional 21,669 shares during the last quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in Bio-Rad Laboratories by 63.0% during the 3rd quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 217,885 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $72,900,000 after buying an additional 84,237 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 193.3% in the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 3,470 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,161,000 after acquiring an additional 2,287 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.24% of the company's stock.

Bio-Rad Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories stock traded down $1.03 on Friday, reaching $264.60. 301,776 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 231,866. The company has a current ratio of 6.48, a quick ratio of 4.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.41 billion, a PE ratio of -4.07 and a beta of 0.90. Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. has a 1-year low of $262.11 and a 1-year high of $387.99. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $328.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $332.89.

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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. will post 10.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on BIO shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, February 17th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Bio-Rad Laboratories from $360.00 to $345.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $481.00 target price on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on Bio-Rad Laboratories from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Three 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, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $395.20.

Bio-Rad Laboratories Company 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.