Nicholas Company Inc. Has $18.63 Million Stock Position in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH)

Nicholas Company Inc. lowered its stake in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) by 0.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 258,674 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 325 shares during the period. Nicholas Company Inc. owned approximately 0.16% of Bio-Techne worth $18,632,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of TECH. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its stake in Bio-Techne by 12.2% in the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 11,349 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $907,000 after buying an additional 1,235 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its position in shares of Bio-Techne by 41.7% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 19,043 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,522,000 after purchasing an additional 5,601 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank grew its position in shares of Bio-Techne by 38.5% during the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 756 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Bio-Techne by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 6,647 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $531,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Bio-Techne by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 5,333 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $426,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.95% of the company’s stock.

Bio-Techne Trading Up 3.8 %

TECH opened at $62.16 on Friday. Bio-Techne Co. has a twelve month low of $56.60 and a twelve month high of $85.57. The company has a quick ratio of 2.77, a current ratio of 3.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company has a fifty day moving average of $69.45 and a 200-day moving average of $72.29. The stock has a market cap of $9.83 billion, a PE ratio of 62.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.30.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 12.73% and a net margin of 13.22%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.67 EPS for the current year.

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Bio-Techne’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Bio-Techne from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Bio-Techne from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of Bio-Techne from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Bio-Techne from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Baird R W downgraded shares of Bio-Techne from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bio-Techne currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $82.14.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Bio-Techne news, Director Amy E. Herr sold 1,860 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.96, for a total value of $122,685.60. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,976 shares of the company’s stock, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kim Kelderman sold 13,392 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 39,004 shares in the company, valued at $3,014,619.16. The trade was a 25.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 3.90% 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.