Bank of America Corp DE Sells 303,523 Shares of Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH)

Bank of America Corp DE reduced its holdings in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH - Free Report) by 37.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 516,549 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 303,523 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE owned about 0.33% of Bio-Techne worth $37,207,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in TECH. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in shares of Bio-Techne by 46.4% during 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 during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Bio-Techne in the fourth quarter worth $41,000. GeoWealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne in the 4th quarter valued at $43,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. raised its holdings in Bio-Techne by 1,355.6% during the fourth quarter. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. now owns 1,048 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 976 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.95% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on TECH. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Bio-Techne from $75.00 to $60.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Baird R W lowered shares of Bio-Techne from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Bio-Techne from $95.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 9th. Evercore ISI began coverage on Bio-Techne in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $75.00 price target for the company. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Bio-Techne from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Bio-Techne presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $73.44.

Bio-Techne Stock Performance

TECH stock traded down $2.48 on Wednesday, reaching $47.05. The company's stock had a trading volume of 408,641 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,280,700. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $53.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $65.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 3.94 and a quick ratio of 2.77. The company has a market capitalization of $7.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.46. Bio-Techne Co. has a 52 week low of $46.01 and a 52 week high of $83.96.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $316.18 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $317.92 million. Bio-Techne had a net margin of 13.22% and a return on equity of 12.73%. Bio-Techne's revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.48 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bio-Techne announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, May 7th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the biotechnology company to purchase up to 6.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors 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 dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.68%. Bio-Techne's dividend payout ratio is currently 39.02%.

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.