Atwood & Palmer Inc. Buys 1,714 Shares of Hologic, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOLX)

Atwood & Palmer Inc. grew its stake in shares of Hologic, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOLX) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 357,735 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,714 shares during the quarter. Hologic makes up 1.8% of Atwood & Palmer Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Atwood & Palmer Inc.’s holdings in Hologic were worth $25,789,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Hologic by 64.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,572,545 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $453,940,000 after buying an additional 2,174,093 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Hologic by 1,023.3% during the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 895,699 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $66,506,000 after acquiring an additional 815,960 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of Hologic by 32.7% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,213,607 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $159,911,000 after purchasing an additional 544,889 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in shares of Hologic in the second quarter worth $39,427,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in Hologic by 21.6% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,535,258 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $188,243,000 after purchasing an additional 450,190 shares during the period. 94.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hologic Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ HOLX opened at $69.73 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 3.69, a quick ratio of 3.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $74.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $78.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.97. Hologic, Inc. has a 1-year low of $68.61 and a 1-year high of $84.67.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on HOLX. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Hologic in a report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Hologic in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $85.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Hologic from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Hologic from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Citigroup cut shares of Hologic from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $95.00 to $85.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hologic presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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 value of $1,897,507.04. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 27,957 shares in the company, valued at $2,134,237.38. This represents a 47.06 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.88% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hologic Profile

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.