Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Sells 5,600 Shares of Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH)

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund decreased its position in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) by 19.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 23,500 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 5,600 shares during the quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in Bio-Techne were worth $1,693,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in Bio-Techne in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in Bio-Techne by 46.4% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 530 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in Bio-Techne in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $43,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its position in shares of Bio-Techne by 60.4% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 672 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Bio-Techne during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Institutional investors own 98.95% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Bio-Techne

In other news, Director Amy E. Herr sold 1,860 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now owns 1,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $130,336.96. This represents a 48.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Kim Kelderman sold 13,392 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,004 shares in the company, valued at $3,014,619.16. The trade was a 25.56 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 3.90% of the company’s stock.

Bio-Techne Stock Performance

Shares of Bio-Techne stock opened at $64.15 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $72.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $73.24. The company has a market capitalization of $10.14 billion, a PE ratio of 64.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a quick ratio of 2.77, a current ratio of 3.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Bio-Techne Co. has a 52 week low of $61.16 and a 52 week high of $85.57.

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

Bio-Techne Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Bio-Techne’s payout ratio is 32.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on TECH shares. KeyCorp boosted their target price on Bio-Techne from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Robert W. Baird downgraded Bio-Techne from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $88.00 to $68.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price 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. Baird R W downgraded Bio-Techne from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their target price on Bio-Techne from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $84.29.

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.