KBC Group NV Grows Position in Hologic, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOLX)

KBC Group NV grew its stake in Hologic, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOLX) by 6.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 93,376 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,747 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Hologic were worth $6,731,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Hologic by 18.4% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 8,428 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $608,000 after acquiring an additional 1,310 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Hologic by 11.4% during the fourth quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 68,427 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $4,933,000 after purchasing an additional 6,986 shares during the period. Olstein Capital Management L.P. boosted its position in Hologic by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. now owns 90,000 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $6,488,000 after buying an additional 5,000 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its holdings in Hologic by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 20,764 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $1,497,000 after buying an additional 1,115 shares during the period. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC purchased a new position in Hologic during the 4th quarter worth approximately $60,000. 94.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Hologic from $84.00 to $82.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Hologic from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. BNP Paribas upgraded Hologic to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Hologic in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Hologic from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hologic has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $88.92.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Essex D. Mitchell sold 24,856 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.34, for a total transaction of $1,897,507.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 27,957 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,134,237.38. This represents a 47.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.88% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hologic Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ HOLX opened at $72.17 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $16.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.97. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $73.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $78.11. The company has a quick ratio of 3.03, a current ratio of 3.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. Hologic, Inc. has a 52-week low of $68.61 and a 52-week high of $84.67.

Hologic (NASDAQ:HOLX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The medical equipment provider reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.01. Hologic had a return on equity of 19.79% and a net margin of 19.59%. The company had revenue of $987.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $978.25 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.89 EPS. Hologic’s revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Hologic, Inc. will post 4.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Hologic

Hologic, Inc develops, manufactures, and supplies diagnostics products, medical imaging systems, and surgical products for women's health through early detection and treatment. The company operates through four segments: Diagnostics, Breast Health, GYN Surgical, and Skeletal Health. It provides Aptima molecular diagnostic assays to detect the infectious microorganisms; Aptima viral load assays for Hepatitis B virus, Hepatitis C virus, human immunodeficiency virus, and human cytomegalo virus; Aptima bacterial vaginosis and candida vaginitis assays for the diagnosis of vaginitis; Aptima SARS-CoV-2 and Panther Fusion SARS-CoV-2 assays to detect SARS-CoV-2; ThinPrep System for cytology applications; and Rapid Fetal Fibronectin Test that assists physicians in assessing the risk of pre-term birth.