Balyasny Asset Management L.P. Takes $3.39 Million Position in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH)

Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 47,069 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $3,390,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of TECH. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in Bio-Techne by 46.4% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 530 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne during the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. GeoWealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Bio-Techne during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $43,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its position in Bio-Techne by 60.4% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 672 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. increased its position in Bio-Techne by 1,355.6% in the 4th quarter. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. now owns 1,048 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $81,000 after acquiring an additional 976 shares during the period. 98.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bio-Techne Stock Up 0.8%

TECH stock traded up $0.38 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $48.24. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,047,594 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,878,101. The company has a market capitalization of $7.63 billion, a PE ratio of 48.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.46. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $53.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $65.88. The company has a quick ratio of 2.77, a current ratio of 3.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Bio-Techne Co. has a 12 month low of $46.01 and a 12 month high of $84.61.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.05. Bio-Techne had a return on equity of 12.73% and a net margin of 13.22%. The company had revenue of $316.18 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $317.92 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.48 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Bio-Techne declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, May 7th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the biotechnology company to purchase up to 6.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th will be paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.66%. Bio-Techne's payout ratio is 39.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bio-Techne

In related news, Director Amy E. Herr sold 1,860 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The stock was 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 approximately $130,336.96. This represents a 48.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 3.90% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on TECH shares. Benchmark cut their price objective on shares of Bio-Techne from $95.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Bio-Techne from $72.00 to $63.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Bio-Techne from $75.00 to $60.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Bio-Techne from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price target on Bio-Techne from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $73.44.

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.