Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) Shares Sold by Texas Permanent School Fund Corp

Texas Permanent School Fund Corp decreased its position in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) by 19.7% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,475 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 852 shares during the quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp’s holdings in Bio-Rad Laboratories were worth $949,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its stake in Bio-Rad Laboratories by 193.8% during the second quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 94 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC acquired a new position in Bio-Rad Laboratories in the first quarter valued at $38,000. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Bio-Rad Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at about $41,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Bio-Rad Laboratories during the first quarter worth about $51,000. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 36.8% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 171 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.24% of the company’s stock.

Bio-Rad Laboratories Trading Down 4.2 %

BIO opened at $329.99 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $323.25 and its 200-day moving average is $307.87. Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. has a 52-week low of $261.59 and a 52-week high of $366.30. The company has a quick ratio of 4.63, a current ratio of 6.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.41 billion, a P/E ratio of -32.02 and a beta of 0.95.

Bio-Rad Laboratories (NYSE:BIO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The medical research company reported $3.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.99. Bio-Rad Laboratories had a negative net margin of 51.73% and a positive return on equity of 3.77%. The business had revenue of $638.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $645.79 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.00 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. will post 10.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP James Barry sold 623 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $330.49, for a total value of $205,895.27. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 147 shares in the company, valued at $48,582.03. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Bio-Rad Laboratories news, COO Andrew J. Last sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.94, for a total transaction of $989,820.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 7,559 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,494,016.46. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP James Barry sold 623 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $330.49, for a total transaction of $205,895.27. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,582.03. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 17.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on BIO. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Bio-Rad Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $340.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com lowered shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $315.00 target price (down previously from $440.00) on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories in a report on Monday, June 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $401.00 price target on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on Bio-Rad Laboratories from $300.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $358.20.

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.