Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) Shares Acquired by Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) by 10.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 251,865 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after buying an additional 24,816 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Bio-Techne were worth $18,585,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Korea Investment CORP grew its stake in Bio-Techne by 75.8% during the 4th quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 73,745 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $5,312,000 after purchasing an additional 31,800 shares during the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. boosted its position in Bio-Techne by 28.3% in the fourth quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 38,728 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,790,000 after buying an additional 8,533 shares during the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC increased its holdings in Bio-Techne by 9.9% in the 4th quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 525,009 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $37,816,000 after buying an additional 47,129 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. raised its position in Bio-Techne by 60.2% during the 4th quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 152,554 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $10,988,000 after buying an additional 57,299 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Creek Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Bio-Techne by 19.8% during the 4th quarter. Summit Creek Advisors LLC now owns 308,311 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $22,208,000 after acquiring an additional 50,881 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.95% of the company’s stock.

Bio-Techne Stock Performance

Shares of TECH stock opened at $58.73 on Monday. 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 12-month low of $56.60 and a 12-month high of $85.57. The business’s 50 day moving average is $66.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $71.44. The company has a market capitalization of $9.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.30.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) last announced its earnings results 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 net margin of 13.22% and a return on equity of 12.73%. Analysts expect that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Activity at Bio-Techne

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

Bio-Techne Company Profile

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.