Bank of America Corp DE Has $37.21 Million Holdings in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH)

Bank of America Corp DE decreased its position in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH - Free Report) by 37.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 516,549 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 303,523 shares during the quarter. Bank of America Corp DE owned 0.33% of Bio-Techne worth $37,207,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT lifted its holdings in Bio-Techne by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT now owns 10,799 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $778,000 after buying an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised 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 worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 11,967 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $862,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in Bio-Techne by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 8,394 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $605,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Michigan Retirement System lifted its position in Bio-Techne by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 43,144 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $3,108,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.95% of the company's stock.

Bio-Techne Stock Performance

Shares of TECH traded up $0.13 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $49.28. 2,081,981 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,280,450. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $53.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $65.45. The company has a market cap of $7.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.78, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.46. Bio-Techne Co. has a twelve month low of $46.01 and a twelve month high of $84.22. 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 (NASDAQ:TECH - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $316.18 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $317.92 million. Bio-Techne had a return on equity of 12.73% and a net margin of 13.22%. Bio-Techne's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.48 EPS. On average, sell-side 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 initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, May 7th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the biotechnology company to purchase up to 6.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.65%. Bio-Techne's dividend payout ratio is currently 39.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of Bio-Techne in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $75.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Bio-Techne from $95.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Robert W. Baird lowered Bio-Techne from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their target price for the company from $88.00 to $68.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Bio-Techne from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, KeyCorp reiterated a "sector weight" rating on shares of Bio-Techne in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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.