Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) Shares Acquired by Venturi Wealth Management LLC

Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) by 45.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,376 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 429 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Bio-Techne were worth $99,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Empirical Finance LLC increased its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 4,080 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $326,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in Bio-Techne by 46.4% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 530 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in Bio-Techne by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 8,394 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $605,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 13,223 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,057,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 35.0% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 763 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 198 shares during the period. 98.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Bio-Techne

In related news, Director Amy E. Herr sold 1,860 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.96, for a total transaction of $122,685.60. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kim Kelderman sold 13,392 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.29, for a total transaction of $1,035,067.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 39,004 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,014,619.16. The trade was a 25.56 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Bio-Techne Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of Bio-Techne stock opened at $64.92 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $72.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $73.41. The company has a market capitalization of $10.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 65.58, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 3.94 and a quick ratio of 2.77. Bio-Techne Co. has a 1-year low of $61.16 and a 1-year high of $85.57.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.35 earnings per share 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, research analysts forecast that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.67 EPS for the current year.

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

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 issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. Bio-Techne’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on TECH. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Bio-Techne from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Baird R W downgraded shares of Bio-Techne from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Bio-Techne from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on Bio-Techne from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered Bio-Techne from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $88.00 to $68.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $84.29.

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.