First Trust Advisors LP Sells 2,413,872 Shares of Hologic, Inc. $HOLX

First Trust Advisors LP lessened its holdings in shares of Hologic, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOLX) by 83.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 479,225 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 2,413,872 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Hologic were worth $31,226,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Investment Counsel Inc raised its holdings in shares of Hologic by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. Capital Investment Counsel Inc now owns 5,814 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $379,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust lifted its stake in shares of Hologic by 5.1% during the second quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 3,579 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $233,000 after buying an additional 173 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group increased its holdings in Hologic by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 15,758 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $1,027,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Hologic by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 19,606 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,278,000 after buying an additional 232 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First American Bank lifted its stake in shares of Hologic by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. First American Bank now owns 28,705 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,870,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the period. 94.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on HOLX shares. Wall Street Zen cut Hologic from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Hologic from $69.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Leerink Partners lifted their price target on Hologic from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Mizuho lowered shares of Hologic from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $70.00 to $78.00 in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI set a $78.00 price objective on shares of Hologic and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hologic currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $79.29.

Hologic Stock Performance

NASDAQ HOLX opened at $74.83 on Thursday. Hologic, Inc. has a 52-week low of $51.90 and a 52-week high of $77.32. The company has a quick ratio of 3.06, a current ratio of 3.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $72.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $68.11. The firm has a market cap of $16.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.70.

Hologic (NASDAQ:HOLX) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The medical equipment provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. Hologic had a net margin of 13.80% and a return on equity of 20.13%. The business’s revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.01 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Hologic, Inc. will post 4.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hologic

In related news, Director Christiana Stamoulis sold 7,402 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.07, for a total value of $540,864.14. Following the sale, the director directly owned 47,336 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,458,841.52. This trade represents a 13.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephen P. Macmillan sold 138,358 shares of Hologic stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.97, for a total value of $9,265,835.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,234,624 shares in the company, valued at $82,682,769.28. This represents a 10.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.88% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.