Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) Shares Acquired by Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB

Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its position in shares of Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) by 6.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,951 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB’s holdings in Bio-Techne were worth $357,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its position in Bio-Techne by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 16,821 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,212,000 after acquiring an additional 474 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne by 21.0% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 2,040,840 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $147,002,000 after purchasing an additional 354,478 shares in the last quarter. Choreo LLC lifted its stake in Bio-Techne by 14.3% during the fourth quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 4,812 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $348,000 after purchasing an additional 603 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Bio-Techne by 46.6% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 16,650 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,215,000 after buying an additional 5,295 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Retirement Systems of Alabama grew its position in Bio-Techne by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 34,402 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,478,000 after buying an additional 336 shares during the last quarter. 98.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on TECH. KeyCorp raised 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. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Bio-Techne from $82.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com raised Bio-Techne from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Bio-Techne from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Bio-Techne from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.57.

Bio-Techne Trading Down 2.3 %

NASDAQ:TECH opened at $68.34 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $10.86 billion, a PE ratio of 69.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 1.27. Bio-Techne Co. has a fifty-two week low of $61.16 and a fifty-two week high of $85.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 3.94 and a quick ratio of 3.26. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $74.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $74.15.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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, equities research analysts forecast that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. Bio-Techne’s dividend payout ratio is 32.32%.

Insider Activity at Bio-Techne

In related news, CEO Kim Kelderman sold 13,392 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.29, for a total transaction of $1,035,067.68. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 39,004 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,014,619.16. This trade represents a 25.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 3.90% 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.