Xponance Inc. Decreases Stake in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH)

Xponance Inc. reduced its stake in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) by 8.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 34,516 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 3,008 shares during the quarter. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Bio-Techne were worth $2,663,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of TECH. National Bank of Canada FI raised its position in shares of Bio-Techne by 27.9% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 33,630 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,258,000 after purchasing an additional 7,339 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc raised its position in Bio-Techne by 12.0% during the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,488 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $169,000 after buying an additional 266 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its position in Bio-Techne by 17.3% during the 3rd quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,514 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $101,000 after buying an additional 223 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC raised its position in Bio-Techne by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 13,884 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $945,000 after buying an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new position in Bio-Techne during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,985,000. 98.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bio-Techne Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of TECH opened at $62.80 on Tuesday. Bio-Techne Co. has a 52-week low of $51.79 and a 52-week high of $89.91. The company has a quick ratio of 3.03, a current ratio of 4.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $70.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $68.61. The stock has a market cap of $9.87 billion, a PE ratio of 45.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.73 and a beta of 1.22.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) last announced its 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $277.48 million. Research analysts forecast that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bio-Techne Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 12th were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 9th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. Bio-Techne’s payout ratio is 23.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Roeland Nusse sold 10,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.98, for a total transaction of $800,592.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 43,097 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,317,607.06. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

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.