93,151 Shares in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) Purchased by APG Asset Management N.V.

APG Asset Management N.V. purchased a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 93,151 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $6,480,000. APG Asset Management N.V. owned about 0.06% of Bio-Techne at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Bio-Techne in the fourth quarter worth approximately $137,301,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne in the 4th quarter valued at $44,479,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Bio-Techne by 10.4% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,820,464 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $275,188,000 after acquiring an additional 358,756 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its stake in Bio-Techne by 21.0% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 2,040,840 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $147,002,000 after acquiring an additional 354,478 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Weitz Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Bio-Techne by 707.7% in the fourth quarter. Weitz Investment Management Inc. now owns 381,250 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $27,461,000 after purchasing an additional 334,050 shares in the last quarter. 98.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bio-Techne Stock Down 3.6 %

NASDAQ:TECH traded down $1.78 on Thursday, hitting $48.21. The stock had a trading volume of 1,188,363 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,729,572. Bio-Techne Co. has a 1 year low of $46.44 and a 1 year high of $85.57. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $59.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $69.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 2.77 and a current ratio of 3.94. The stock has a market cap of $7.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.45.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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%. Analysts predict that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.66%. Bio-Techne's payout ratio is currently 32.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Bio-Techne news, CEO Kim Kelderman sold 13,392 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.29, for a total value of $1,035,067.68. Following the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Amy E. Herr sold 1,860 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.96, for a total value of $122,685.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 1,976 shares in the company, valued at $130,336.96. This represents a 48.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on TECH shares. Robert W. Baird cut shares of Bio-Techne from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $88.00 to $68.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Citigroup cut their target price on Bio-Techne from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Bio-Techne in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $75.00 price target for the company. KeyCorp reaffirmed a "sector weight" rating on shares of Bio-Techne in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted 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. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $81.25.

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.