Stephens Inc. AR Increases Stake in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH)

Stephens Inc. AR lifted its stake in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 7,012 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 217 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in Bio-Techne were worth $560,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Bio-Techne in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its position in shares of Bio-Techne by 922.5% in the 2nd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 409 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 369 shares during the last quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Bio-Techne during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. DT Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in Bio-Techne during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in Bio-Techne by 1,427.8% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 550 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 514 shares during the last quarter. 98.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bio-Techne Price Performance

Bio-Techne stock opened at $75.83 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $74.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $74.97. Bio-Techne Co. has a 1 year low of $55.63 and a 1 year high of $85.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 80.67, a P/E/G ratio of 5.47 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 3.26 and a current ratio of 4.56.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The biotechnology company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.04. Bio-Techne had a net margin of 12.86% and a return on equity of 12.76%. The firm had revenue of $289.46 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $280.22 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.35 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th will be paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.42%. Bio-Techne’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.04%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Bio-Techne from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $95.00 price target on shares of Bio-Techne in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Bio-Techne from $82.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Bio-Techne from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Bio-Techne from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $81.78.

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.