Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board Takes $478,000 Position in Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO)

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board bought a new stake in Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,383 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $478,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Bio-Rad Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth approximately $563,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in Bio-Rad Laboratories by 104.1% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 12,605 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $4,070,000 after purchasing an additional 6,429 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Bio-Rad Laboratories by 42.0% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 480 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $172,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC increased its position in Bio-Rad Laboratories by 51.2% during the 4th quarter. Oak Thistle LLC now owns 1,913 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $618,000 after purchasing an additional 648 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAM Holding AG acquired a new position in Bio-Rad Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth approximately $323,000. 65.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bio-Rad Laboratories Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE:BIO traded up $5.10 during trading on Monday, reaching $301.92. The stock had a trading volume of 235,081 shares, compared to its average volume of 226,812. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $286.96 and its 200 day moving average is $307.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 4.89 and a current ratio of 6.57. Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. has a 52 week low of $261.59 and a 52 week high of $431.79. The stock has a market cap of $8.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -29.17 and a beta of 0.93.

Bio-Rad Laboratories (NYSE:BIO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 7th. The medical research company reported $2.29 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.25. Bio-Rad Laboratories had a negative net margin of 12.37% and a positive return on equity of 3.59%. The company had revenue of $610.82 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $619.09 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.34 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. will post 10.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Michael Crowley sold 369 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.91, for a total transaction of $104,024.79. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,573 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,852,994.43. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 17.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on BIO. Citigroup cut shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $400.00 to $365.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories from $420.00 to $385.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $315.00 target price (down from $440.00) on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories in a report on Monday, June 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $436.67.

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.