AlphaCrest Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Varian Medical Systems, Inc. (NYSE:VAR) by 5.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,324 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 326 shares during the period. AlphaCrest Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Varian Medical Systems were worth $898,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fiera Capital Corp grew its holdings in Varian Medical Systems by 20.7% during the 4th quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 3,239,226 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $460,003,000 after acquiring an additional 556,316 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management & Equity Research Inc. grew its holdings in Varian Medical Systems by 170.5% during the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management & Equity Research Inc. now owns 768,075 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $109,074,000 after acquiring an additional 484,173 shares during the period. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN grew its holdings in Varian Medical Systems by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN now owns 727,055 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $86,585,000 after acquiring an additional 15,365 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Varian Medical Systems by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 603,181 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $85,658,000 after acquiring an additional 6,217 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp grew its holdings in Varian Medical Systems by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 468,371 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $66,513,000 after acquiring an additional 13,029 shares during the period. 90.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Shares of VAR opened at $113.14 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $136.37 and a 200-day moving average of $129.50. The company has a market cap of $10.25 billion, a PE ratio of 35.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.04. Varian Medical Systems, Inc. has a one year low of $102.64 and a one year high of $150.06.
Varian Medical Systems (NYSE:VAR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The medical equipment provider reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, missing the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $1.21 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $828.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $829.36 million. Varian Medical Systems had a net margin of 8.92% and a return on equity of 24.40%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.06 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Varian Medical Systems, Inc. will post 5.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.
A number of brokerages have weighed in on VAR. ValuEngine upgraded Varian Medical Systems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Zacks Investment Research upgraded Varian Medical Systems from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $148.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Barrington Research decreased their price target on Varian Medical Systems from $160.00 to $147.00 in a report on Tuesday. BTIG Research decreased their price target on Varian Medical Systems from to in a report on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on Varian Medical Systems from $175.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. The company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $155.13.
In other news, SVP John W. Kuo sold 814 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.97, for a total value of $115,563.58. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 39,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,540,237.28. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Kolleen T. Kennedy sold 6,106 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.28, for a total value of $874,867.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 32,680 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,682,390.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 16,500 shares of company stock valued at $2,369,406. 0.78% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
About Varian Medical Systems
Varian Medical Systems, Inc designs, manufactures, sells, and services medical devices and software products for treating cancer and other medical conditions worldwide. It operates through two segments, Oncology Systems and Proton Solutions. The Oncology Systems segment offers hardware and software products for treating cancer with radiotherapy, fixed field intensity-modulated radiation therapy, image-guided radiation therapy, volumetric modulated arc therapy, stereotactic radiosurgery, stereotactic body radiotherapy, and brachytherapy, as well as related quality assurance equipment.
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