Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) Shares Sold by Ownership Capital B.V.

Ownership Capital B.V. trimmed its holdings in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) by 21.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,395,246 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 391,027 shares during the period. Bio-Techne makes up about 2.4% of Ownership Capital B.V.’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Ownership Capital B.V.’s holdings in Bio-Techne were worth $107,657,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Morgan Stanley raised its position in shares of Bio-Techne by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,305,826 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $225,028,000 after purchasing an additional 143,716 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of Bio-Techne by 13.8% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,476,552 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $168,579,000 after purchasing an additional 300,903 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Bio-Techne by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 2,399,327 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $185,132,000 after purchasing an additional 70,294 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Bio-Techne by 14.8% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,880,812 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $128,027,000 after purchasing an additional 241,771 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Bio-Techne by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,627,073 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $110,755,000 after purchasing an additional 38,223 shares in the last quarter. 98.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bio-Techne Stock Performance

TECH traded up $1.40 during trading on Friday, reaching $64.06. 973,784 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 917,625. The stock has a market cap of $10.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.42, a PEG ratio of 7.80 and a beta of 1.22. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $69.82 and a 200 day moving average of $68.48. The company has a current ratio of 4.37, a quick ratio of 3.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Bio-Techne Co. has a 52 week low of $51.79 and a 52 week high of $89.91.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The biotechnology company reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.36 by ($0.03). Bio-Techne had a return on equity of 14.21% and a net margin of 19.58%. The business had revenue of $272.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $277.48 million. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bio-Techne Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 12th were paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 9th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.50%. Bio-Techne’s payout ratio is 23.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TECH has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on Bio-Techne from $85.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Scotiabank began coverage on Bio-Techne in a report on Thursday, February 8th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $80.00 price target for the company. Stephens lowered their price target on Bio-Techne from $92.00 to $87.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Bio-Techne from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $65.00 price target for the company. in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Bio-Techne from $85.00 to $75.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $83.90.

Insider Transactions at Bio-Techne

In other news, Director Roeland Nusse sold 10,400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.98, for a total value of $800,592.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 43,097 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,317,607.06. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 4.45% of the company’s stock.

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.