Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) Shares Acquired by Blair William & Co. IL

Blair William & Co. IL raised its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) by 9.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 114,129 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,459 shares during the quarter. Blair William & Co. IL’s holdings in Bio-Techne were worth $8,221,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,594,608 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,339,370,000 after buying an additional 275,644 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Bio-Techne by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,395,993 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $511,232,000 after acquiring an additional 95,133 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its holdings in Bio-Techne by 21.0% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 2,040,840 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $147,002,000 after acquiring an additional 354,478 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Bio-Techne by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,465,690 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $105,574,000 after purchasing an additional 51,687 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne in the 3rd quarter valued at about $89,724,000. 98.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bio-Techne Price Performance

NASDAQ TECH opened at $58.73 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $66.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $71.45. The stock has a market cap of $9.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a current ratio of 3.94, a quick ratio of 2.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Bio-Techne Co. has a 52 week low of $56.60 and a 52 week high of $85.57.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by ($0.03). Bio-Techne had a return on equity of 12.73% and a net margin of 13.22%. Analysts forecast that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.67 EPS for the current year.

Bio-Techne Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th were paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Bio-Techne’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on TECH shares. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on Bio-Techne in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $75.00 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird cut Bio-Techne from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $88.00 to $68.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Bio-Techne from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Bio-Techne from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Bio-Techne from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $81.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Amy E. Herr sold 1,860 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.96, for a total transaction of $122,685.60. Following the sale, the director now owns 1,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $130,336.96. The trade was a 48.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Kim Kelderman sold 13,392 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.29, for a total value of $1,035,067.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 39,004 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,014,619.16. This trade represents a 25.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 3.90% of the company’s stock.

About Bio-Techne

Bio-Techne Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, develops, manufactures, and sells life science reagents, instruments, and services for the research and clinical diagnostic markets in the United States, the United Kingdom, rest of Europe, Middle East, and Africa, Greater China, rest of Asia-Pacific, and internationally.