Russell Investments Group Ltd. Boosts Stock Holdings in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) by 65.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 212,227 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 83,569 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Bio-Techne were worth $16,400,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in TECH. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Bio-Techne in the third quarter worth $27,000. CVA Family Office LLC purchased a new position in Bio-Techne in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in Bio-Techne during the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. Federated Hermes Inc. purchased a new stake in Bio-Techne in the third quarter worth approximately $47,000. Finally, Clear Street Markets LLC boosted its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 255.8% in the 3rd quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC now owns 733 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 527 shares during the last quarter. 98.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Bio-Techne Price Performance

TECH stock opened at $77.29 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 3.03 and a current ratio of 4.08. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $69.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $68.55. Bio-Techne Co. has a one year low of $51.79 and a one year high of $89.91. The company has a market capitalization of $12.15 billion, a PE ratio of 61.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.41 and a beta of 1.23.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The biotechnology company reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $303.43 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $292.36 million. Bio-Techne had a net margin of 17.59% and a return on equity of 13.60%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.47 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bio-Techne Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.41%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. Bio-Techne’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.40%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on TECH. Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Bio-Techne in a report on Thursday, February 8th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $80.00 price objective on the stock. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $95.00 price objective on shares of Bio-Techne in a research note on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Bio-Techne from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $65.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Stephens decreased their target price on shares of Bio-Techne from $92.00 to $87.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of Bio-Techne from $85.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Bio-Techne presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $80.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Roeland Nusse sold 10,400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.98, for a total transaction of $800,592.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 43,097 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,317,607.06. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate 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.