Prudential Financial Inc. Has $10.99 Million Position in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH)

Prudential Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) by 60.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 152,554 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 57,299 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. owned about 0.10% of Bio-Techne worth $10,988,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne by 46.4% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 530 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in Bio-Techne in the third quarter valued at about $39,000. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in Bio-Techne in the third quarter valued at about $43,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its stake in Bio-Techne by 60.4% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 672 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne by 35.0% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 763 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. 98.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Amy E. Herr sold 1,860 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 1,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $130,336.96. This represents a 48.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kim Kelderman sold 13,392 shares of Bio-Techne stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 3.90% of the company’s stock.

Bio-Techne Stock Down 2.0 %

Shares of TECH opened at $58.73 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $9.28 billion, a PE ratio of 59.32, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.30. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $66.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $71.47. The company has a current ratio of 3.94, a quick ratio of 2.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Bio-Techne Co. has a 12 month low of $56.60 and a 12 month high of $85.57.

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

Bio-Techne Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th were paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Bio-Techne’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Baird R W lowered shares of Bio-Techne from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. 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 raised their price objective on Bio-Techne from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Evercore ISI began coverage on Bio-Techne in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $75.00 target price for the company. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on Bio-Techne from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $81.25.

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.