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

Blair William & Co. IL boosted its holdings in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) by 9.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 114,129 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,459 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL owned 0.07% of Bio-Techne worth $8,221,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 46.4% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 530 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in Bio-Techne during the third quarter worth $39,000. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bio-Techne in the third quarter worth $43,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its position in shares of Bio-Techne by 60.4% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 672 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 35.0% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 763 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. 98.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Bio-Techne

In related news, Director Amy E. Herr sold 1,860 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 1,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $130,336.96. This trade represents a 48.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 39,004 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,014,619.16. This represents a 25.56 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 3.90% of the company’s stock.

Bio-Techne Price Performance

TECH stock opened at $58.73 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $9.28 billion, a PE 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. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $66.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $71.45. Bio-Techne Co. has a 12-month low of $56.60 and a 12-month high of $85.57.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) last issued 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 return on equity of 12.73% and a net margin of 13.22%. As a group, research analysts predict that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.67 EPS for the current year.

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th were paid a $0.08 dividend. 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 presently 32.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on TECH. Baird R W lowered shares of Bio-Techne from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of Bio-Techne in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $75.00 target price on the stock. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Bio-Techne from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Robert W. Baird cut Bio-Techne from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $88.00 to $68.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Bio-Techne from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Bio-Techne presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $81.25.

Bio-Techne 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.