Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Raises Stock Holdings in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH)

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH - Free Report) by 54.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 498,500 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after acquiring an additional 175,000 shares during the quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned about 0.31% of Bio-Techne worth $35,907,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 13.1% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 10,654,267 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $767,428,000 after buying an additional 1,229,954 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its position in shares of Bio-Techne by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 268,472 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $19,336,000 after purchasing an additional 21,483 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 43,245 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $3,115,000 after buying an additional 2,142 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne by 193.0% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 10,823 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $780,000 after purchasing an additional 7,129 shares during the period. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Bio-Techne by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 41,988 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $3,024,000 after purchasing an additional 1,055 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.95% of the company's stock.

Bio-Techne Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:TECH traded down $0.34 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $50.16. 263,737 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,214,373. Bio-Techne Co. has a 12 month low of $46.01 and a 12 month high of $85.57. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $56.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $67.43. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $7.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.45.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH - Get Free Report) last posted 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 return on equity of 12.73% and a net margin of 13.22%. On average, equities analysts expect that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Bio-Techne's payout ratio is 32.32%.

Insider Activity at Bio-Techne

In other Bio-Techne news, Director Amy E. Herr sold 1,860 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at $130,336.96. This trade 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 is available at this hyperlink. 3.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on TECH shares. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of Bio-Techne in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $75.00 target price on the stock. KeyCorp reissued a "sector weight" rating on shares of Bio-Techne in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. StockNews.com raised Bio-Techne from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Bio-Techne from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Bio-Techne from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $81.14.

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.